A Wonderful Surprise
by jessalyn78
Summary: Some unexpected news draws Zoe and Wade back into each other's lives. Will they be able to overcome a world of obstacles and find happiness with one another in the end?
1. Chapter 1

I wake up and my head is pounding. Gosh, what the hell happened last night? I sit up and look down at myself. I'm wearing a long grey dress. Oh, that's right, the wedding. And suddenly I'm hit with a wave of emotions. Wade… Wade and me are over. Wade cheated. Oh God, I remember now.

"Hey Big Z" Lavon says softly walking into my room.

"Hey" I respond. Gosh, my voice sounds so horse.

"Feeling better?" he asks as he pats my knee.

"No" I answer. "My head is killing me."

"Well you got pretty drunk last night-"

"What? I got drunk?"

"You don't remember?" he asks skeptically.

"No, the last thing I remember I was dancing with you."

"Yeah, well after that you got hammered."

"What, why did you let me do that?"

"I tried to stop you, so did George and Tansy…"

"I didn't do anything embarrassing did I?"

"No" Lavon says staring at the floor.

"Lavon-" I say, knowing he's lying.

"Okay" he admits. "You…sang."

"What?"

"You sang. In front of everybody."

"But, no I don't sing-"

"Yes, and there's a very good reason for that. But hey, it wasn't too bad I did always like that song…"

"What song?"

"Total Eclipse of the Heart."

"I sang Total Eclipse of the Heart, drunk, in front of everybody in Bluebell?" I ask horrified.

"It's okay" Lavon says comfortingly.

"Everybody must think I'm a jerk!"

"Oh quite the opposite actually, ten people have already been over here this morning to see if you're okay. The kitchen is filled with casseroles and pies."

"Really?"

"Tansy wanted me to give you this."

"A Dolly Parton CD?"

"Yes, her exact words were 'listening to Dolly Parton with Dolly Parton always helped me through a breakup.'"

"I'll have to thank her" I mutter as I get up. Oh no. I think I'm going to be sick. No, I'm definitely going to be sick. I run to the bathroom and Lavon follows me.

He holds my hair back and rubs my back. "There, there. It's okay."

"Lavon" I say between wretches. "It's okay, you don't have to do this."

"I know" he says softly remaining where he is.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

I take a shower, brush my teeth, and change into sweats. I call Brick to tell him I'm not coming in today and he's… nice. It's weird.

I sit on my bed and sigh. I can't believe it. I can't believe Wade actually cheated, that we broke up. Somewhere deep inside me I thought he'd be different than all the other men in my life before. I thought he wouldn't disappoint.

"So much for that" I scoff.

Damn, what is wrong with me! I've been through breakups before, bad ones, but it's never felt like this. Suddenly I hear something, I look up and Wade is standing in my bedroom staring at me. Crap.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Wade" I say and for a moment I just stare at him. "What are you doing here?" I finally snap angrily.

"I was worried about you, I know you were drinking last night…"

"I'm fine" I say dryly.

"Good" he responds as he struggles to give me a small smile, but I can tell by the look on his face that he's devastated.

"Why did you do it?" I finally ask breaking the silence."

"Zoe" he says as he sits on the bed next to me. "It was just a _stupid_ mistake. Please baby, please give me a second chance."

"Did you- did you do it to hurt me?" I ask as I cringe and look away.

"No! No, Oh God no! I never wanted to hurt you."

"Did you do it because I wasn't good enough- because you wanted something more-"

"Zoe, you are all I want. You are all I'll ever want. That girl meant nothing- please!" he begs as he tries to take my hand in his, but I jerk it away.

"I- I don't know if I can trust you again."

"I want to spend the rest of my life earning your trust Zoe Hart. Please. Please, please baby, please!" Wade is breaking down, he's crying. I want to take him in my arms, I want to make all of this go away. But, damn it, he is the one who did this! He is the one who did this to both of us! He's the reason I'm feeling this way. How could he have done this to me?

"Was it worth it?" I ask in a whispered hush.

"Damn it Zoe, no! No, of course not! I'd do anything to take this back" he yells through sobs.

"You can't" I say as I choke back tears. "You can't take this back Wade. I'm sorry. We're over."

"No, please-"

"Wade. Leave." I say coldly as I walk over the door and hold it open.

"Please" he begs.

"Go" I repeat softly. He just stands there and stares at me with a lost puppy dog look in his eyes. "Go!" I repeat angrily. "Now, Leave!"

"Okay" he replies softly. "I love you."

I slam the door behind him. Did he really just do that!? Did he really just tell me he loves me!? Really, he's going to do this now? Like this? Why couldn't he have said that last week, better yet why couldn't he have realized that before he…. No, I am not going to let Wade Kinsella get under my skin. I'm going to forget him.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Did you let Wade in?" I ask Lavon as I walk into the kitchen.

"No, he came here."

"Yes" I answer.

"Hey" Lavon says. "If he bugs you again…"

"Thanks" I respond as I take the seat next him.

"Can you believe it's March already?" Lavon asks, and I can tell he's trying to lighten the mood.

"No it isn't" I chuckle.

"Uhh, yes it is" he answers. "Today's March 1st."

"No it isn't" I repeat as the horrible realization hits me. "It can't be March 1st that would make me…."

"Make you what?" Lavon asks concerned.

"That would make me one week late…"

**Please Review!**


	2. Chapter 2

"What?" Lavon responds with a horrified look on his face.

"I'm late" I repeat in a whispered hush.

"Okay" he says as he clears his throat. "Just to be clear, when you say late…"

"My period-"

"Okay" he interrupts throwing his hands in the air. "That's enough. I get it" he pauses. "Oh God Zoe, what does this mean?"

"It means" I explain as I clear my throat. "It means that I might be pregnant…"

"And Wade's the father?"

"Yes Wade's the father!" I snap. "Assuming that I am actually…"

"Okay" Lavon says trying to reassure me. "It's okay. We're going to figure this out Zoe. I have to drive over to Mobile for business in a few minutes. While I'm there, I can buy a test-"

"No" I say exasperated. "I won't be able to tell yet!"

"What do you mean?"

"It's too soon; the results won't be reliable."

"Oh, so how long will you have to wait?"

"Another week or two" I groan.

"Ouch" Lavon says cringing. "That's not going to be fun."

"What the hell am I going to do?"

"It's okay" he says calmly. "We don't know that you need to do anything, maybe you're not pregnant." He pauses. "Okay, gosh, how do I ask this without asking it?"

"Just ask!"

"Okay, you um- said you're late. Does that usually happen to you?"

"No, I'm very regular. Like clockwork. Oh God! I can't be having Wade Kinsella's baby! I hate him right now!" I whine.

"It's okay Zo" he says softly. "I'll help you."

"Help me what?"

"I'll um-"

"You'll what?"

"I can help you raise the baby. If that's what you want" he blurts out looking at me with a look of sincerity on his face that reminds me of why Lavon is my best friend.

"Lavon that's sweet, but-"

"I'm serious. Wade doesn't even have to know it's his kid."

"What?"

"We can lie. We just say you were drunk, I was drunk, we were both heartbroken and we ended up…"

"Lavon, I hate to bring this up, but won't it be kind of obvious."

"What do you mean?"

"I just mean the baby isn't going to- it won't- Oh for goodness sakes Lavon the baby is going to be white!" I finally blurt out.

"Crap, I didn't think of that. You know Wade's not really that smart, maybe he won't notice."

"I think he'll be able to put it together. Besides, I couldn't do that. I couldn't lie to my child about who its father is. I still haven't really forgiven my mother for doing that…"

"Okay, okay. You're right, I'm sorry. My plan sucks."

"It was sweet" I say smiling. "Just not what I'm going to do. God, if this really is Wade's kid I have to tell him the truth, right?"

"Well" Lavon says as he clears his throat. "He didn't tell you the truth."

"Yeah" I say thinking it over. "But this is different. This is a baby. This is huge."

"Okay" Lavon says calmly. "You don't even know for sure if you're pregnant yet. But if you are, Zoe you know this doesn't mean you have to get back together with Wade, right?"

I nod.

"Don't let him pressure you about this."

"Lavon" I say looking him in the eye. "I'm Doctor Zoe Hart, I don't let anybody pressure me into anything."

"That's my girl" he chuckles.

"But just because I'm not getting back together with Wade doesn't mean that he doesn't deserve to know what's going on."

"Well" Lavon says nodding. "You don't need to tell him anything until you know for sure."

"Right" I agree. "Because there might not even be anything to tell him…"

"Look" Lavon says staring at his watch. "I have to go now, do you want me to call anyone to stay here with you. "

"I don't need a babysitter" I reply as I get up and walk towards the refrigerator. "I think I'm going to fix myself something to eat. Don't worry about me, I'm fine."

"Okay" he replies as he walks out the door. "But if you need me you have my number."

"Thank you" I nod.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

I sit and twiddle my thumbs as I eat a bowl of oatmeal. I might be a mother soon. Me. Zoe Hart. I might have a baby growing inside of me. Wade's baby. God, this is so surreal. How could this have happened? We used protection every time. For some reason I am even angrier at Wade now. He ruined everything. If it weren't for him I wouldn't be heartbroken and knocked up right now.

Suddenly a thought comes to my mind. I don't have to have this baby. Even down here in the middle of nowhere, women have options. I have options. Wade would never have to know…

Gosh, but could I actually do that. I don't know. A small part of me is actually sort of attached to this little guy. Little guy? Goodness, I'm already assigning a gender to this might-be fetus. I need to keep a level head here.

Suddenly I'm interrupted by the phone ringing.

"Oh thank God" I say as I answer it. "I could really use your advice on this one, there's something I need to tell you."

**Please Review!**


	3. Chapter 3

"Mom" I sigh, "I really need to talk to you."

"What's the matter baby?" she asks concerned.

"I…um…" Gosh, this is going to be a lot harder to talk about than I thought. "I broke up with Wade."

"I'm sorry to hear that" she says softly "I know you really liked him. What happened?"

"He… cheated" I admit as my voice cracks.

"Well" she sighs "Better now than later. Now you know that he's no good you can put yourself back out there."

Yeah, I don't think that's going to happen for at least another nine months assuming I am in fact pregnant with Wade Kinsella's baby.

"I know it's hard honey" she adds.

"Yeah" I sigh. Should I tell her?

"Hey" she adds. "How about I go down there for a visit. I miss you. We haven't seen each other since Christmas."

Oh God, Christmas, when me and Wade got together officially. I was so happy then. He was so happy then. How did it all go so wrong so quickly?

"Zoe? Zoe? Are you there sweetie?"

"Yes" I respond. "Yes, that- um, that would be great mom."

"Is anything else bothering you honey?"

Damn, she's good.

"No" I answer quickly. "Just my cheating bastard of an ex-boyfriend."

"You know" my mother says in an excited voice that worries me for some reason "I heard you're ex-boyfriend from med school is single again. I'm friends with his mother I could talk to her…"

Oh God, no. He is the last person, well besides Wade, that I want to be in a relationship with right now.

"I think I need some time" I explain.

"Okay" my mother answers. But deep down inside I know she isn't going to drop this. I roll my eyes. The doorbell rings providing a nice distraction from my mother playing matchmaker.

"I have to go" I say as I walk over to the front door. "Talk to you later?"

"Of course sweetie" she says softly. "Feel better."

"Hello" I say as I open the door. "Oh crap, not you."

"I just thought I'd bring something over for you."

"Brownies? You brought brownies. Lemon Breeland is giving me pity brownies. My life has hit a new low."

"Whatever" she responds as she hands them to me.

"Thank you" I nod regretting my bitchiness.

"You're welcome" she answers acting uncharacteristically gracious.

"I brought something for you too" Annabeth adds handing me a pie.

"It's peach. My grandmother's recipe."

"Thank you" I say. "This was very nice of both of you. Lavon and I will be all set with baked goods for a long time."

They both look around uncomfortably and I realize that bringing up Lavon in front of them was probably not the best idea.

"Um, how is he doing?" Annabeth asks.

"Better than me" I sigh. "I mean, good. Good. He's doing good."

"Well that's good" Annabeth replies nodding awkwardly.

"Well we should get going" Lemon adds.

"Okay" I nod. "Thanks for the food."

"No problem" Annabeth says merrily as they walk away.

This is going to be a long week, this nagging worry in the back of my mind that I can only talk to Lavon about, everyone in town pitying me. I need a drink… But wait, I can't. Damn it.

**Please Review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**1 week later**

I'm sitting on the bathroom floor with Lavon waiting, for what feels like an eternity, for the timer to ding. I've been so anxious to finally get this over with, and to find out for sure if I'm actually pregnant, but now that it's finally happening…

"Hey" Lavon says softly. "Either way, it'll be okay Zo. I mean what I said, I'll help you out whatever way I can."

"I know" I sigh. "Thanks Lavon, I don't know how I'd get through this if it weren't for you."

He smiles at me and then I hear the timer ding. Oh God, this is it.

"What does it say?" I ask cringing as Lavon looks at the test.

"It's blue" he says. "I don't know what that means…"

"I don't either" I reply wide eyed as I dart to the trashcan where I have thrown the box.

"Blue means positive…. Positive…. As in positive I'm pregnant. Crap. Crap. Crap…."

"It's okay" Lavon says reassuringly as he takes me by the shoulders. "Zo- don't freak out."

"Freak out?" I ask in a voice that is much more high pitched than I meant it to. "Who's freaking out? I'm fine… I'm fine… I'm having a baby. Oh my gosh. This is real. This is actually happening."

"Well, look at this way. Now that you know for sure you can decide what you want."

What I want? What I want is to go back in time and change everything about the past week and a half. To not have pressured Wade about the whole stupid battle of the bands thing, to have been there for him, to have stopped him from cheating on me, to not be knocked up …

"Zoe" Lavon says interrupting my thoughts. "Have you thought about that at all? You know, what your options have."

"Of course I have" I sigh. "I am a doctor after all."

"And?"

"And- I don't know! I can't imagine myself with a baby, especially not Wade's baby, not right now…"

"But?"

"But- when I think about terminating the pregnancy I just feel so…sad."

"Sad?" Lavon asks as he arches a brow.

"I guess" I say trying to make sense of emotions by talking through them out loud "I guess a part of me _wants _this."

"You want Wade's baby?" Lavon asks arching his brow.

"No" I scoff. "But, it's my baby too. I mean, I know Wade being the father is going to complicate things, but I think I want to do this. I think I want to be a mom."

The feeling of shock inside me matches the look on Lavon's face. I can't believe this, I didn't know I'd actually feel this way. There's this little person growing inside me and it scares the crap out of me, but it's also kind of _cool._

"Well congratulations then Zoe" Lavon replies wrapping me in a tight hug.

"Thanks" I sigh.

I pull back and he puts his hand on my stomach. "Congratulations to you too little guy."

"Little guy?" I ask smiling. "You think it's a boy."

"Oh" he replies nervously. "I really don't know."

"No, it's okay. I think that too. I don't know why I guess it just be like mother's instinct or something."

Mother's instinct. Holy crap, this feels so surreal.

"So" Lavon says staring at the floor. "I don't want to kill the mood or anything, but are you going to tell Wade."

"Of course I'm going to tell Wade" I groan. "But not yet. I can't yet. I guess I just want to be happy about this for five minutes before I figure out this whole complicated mess…"

"I get that" Lavon nods. "He won't hear it from me. No one will. I can keep this a secret for as long as you want me too."

"Thank you" I reply smiling.

Suddenly I'm interrupted by a knock at the door.

"I'll get it" Lavon says as he kisses the top of my head. "Wouldn't want you to strain yourself."

Oh crap, Lavon isn't going to treat me like I'm fragile now is he?

"Hello" I hear a familiar male voice say. "Is Zoe here?"

Crap. What the hell is he doing here? I don't want to talk to him now!

"Yeah" Lavon replies. "Zo, you have company."

What the hell is Lavon doing? Doesn't he know when I need him to cover for me.

"Um.." I reply nervously. "I'm busy."

"I can wait" he replies.

Damn it! Fine, I guess I have to face this.

"Hey" I reply nervously.

"Hey Zoe" he says with a dreamy grin on his face.

"What are you doing here?" I ask trying not to sound annoyed.

"I was in the area" he replies with a smile.

"What the hell were you doing in Alabama?"

"Well, to be honest. I came here to see you."

No duh, I had forgotten about his annoying habit of explaining the obvious.

"Oh" I reply trying to convey my disinterest in my voice. "And why's that?"

"You're mother told me you're going through a bad breakup, I thought you could use a friendly face."

Yes, that's exactly what I need, my last ex-boyfriend to comfort me. What the hell does he think is going to happen? Does he think I'm going to jump into bed with him just because he came to visit me? Damn it mom why did you do this!?

He's just standing there staring at me like an idiot. Man, he's obnoxious I need him to leave.

"I'm pregnant" I blurt out. "I doubt you're interested now…so, have a safe trip back to New York."

Instead he's smiling- smiling. What?

"That's terrific" he says as he hugs me. "Hey- why don't I take you out to dinner? We can catch up."

What? He knows I'm pregnant and he still wants to go on a date?

"Um…" I reply staring at the floor.

"Come on" he says teasingly. "I know you Zoe. It's 6:00, you're always hungry around this time."

Damn it, it's hard to brush off someone you've dated for six years.

"Okay" I sigh.

"I saw this restaurant on the way, it's called the Rammer Jammer-"

"No!" I blurt out before he finishes his sentence. "I just, I mean you've come all this way, there are nicer restaurants in Bluebell."

"Okay" he replies smiling. "Well then why don't I take you to one of those nice restaurants?"

I shoot Lavon a look of uncertainty before taking his hand. Crap, this is happening. Not five minutes after I find out I'm having Wade's baby, I'm going on a date with my ex from New York. This is surreal…

**Please Review!**


	5. Chapter 5

"So" Zach says as we are seated at our table. "How long have you known about this whole pregnancy thing?"

"Shhh" I scold looking around to see if anyone has noticed what he just said.

"What's wrong?" he replies concerned.

"Zach" I whisper exasperated "This isn't New York. Everyone knows everyone in Bluebell, and everyone knows everyone else's business. I'm not ready for that, especially since I haven't told the father yet."

"Who is the father?" he asks matching my whispering tone. "Is it that guy you're living with?"

"No, that's just Lavon. We're friends."

"Oh. Good." He nods.

"Wait-you thought we were together and you still asked me out right in front of him?"

"I was willing to fight for you" he says smiling at me.

What? This is new. Even when we were dating, he always seemed a little bit… indifferent. And suddenly he's willing to fight for me? Willing to date me even though he knows I'm carrying another man's baby?

"It doesn't bother you?" I ask changing the subject.

"What's that?" he asks.

"You know, that I'm… with child."

"Not really" he shrugs. "I always wanted to have kids with you Zo."

Holy crap. What?

"You never told me that when we were dating" I reply.

"You never asked. You were always so obsessed with work and school. But from what I've seen, you're different now. You're going to be an awesome mom Zoe."

That still seems so bizarre. Me, a mom.

"I haven't had a lot of time to process this" I admit shakily.

"The father, he's the guy you were dating until-"

"Until a week and a half ago? Yes. That's him."

"I heard he cheated on you."

"Where the hell did you hear that from?" I scowl. My mother. Great, because this situation wasn't embarrassing enough.

"He sounds like an ass Zoe, you could do so much better" he grabs my hand and starts stroking my thumb.

"Like you?" I ask sarcastically.

"Well, yeah" he says his face lighting up.

"Come to New York with me" he says staring at me deeply.

What? To New York, with him, and the baby. Gosh, I haven't thought about moving to New York since last year. Then Wade gave me a reason to stay. But now… No, I still have a reason to stay. I've finally gained the people of Bluebell's trust, and I love my job, and Lavon is the best friend I've ever had…. I can't go. Besides, if I'm honest with myself- Zach isn't what I want. He never really was. With him, I never felt like I did when I was with… Crap! I need to stop thinking about Wade Kinsella-

"Zoe" Zach says snapping me out of my thoughts. "What do you say?"

What do I say? Oh, about New York, right.

"Sorry" I sigh. "I can't just up and leave the practice like that, plus Zach I don't think you're really thinking this through all the way. I'm pregnant. As in going to have a baby in nine months. That's huge, and it seems to me like you're being just a little impulsive. This is the first time we've even seen each other in two years."

"That's exactly it Zo-" he replies. "I've had two years to miss you, two years to imagine what my life would be like if you never took off to this God forsaken hell hole. Zoe I know what I want and it's you- baby or no baby."

Holy crap, he's serious. I mean, this isn't ideal, but neither is the alternative. I love Bluebell, but I love New York too. New York is home. And sure my relationship with Zach has never been intense or passion filled, but we were happy once. Maybe would could be happy again. He'd be a great father. What am I saying? I can't do this. I can't be like my mother…

"Zoe" he repeats, snapping me out of my thoughts once again. "Come on, I know you want this. Alabama is never what you wanted. It wasn't your first choice, hell it wasn't even you're second choice. It was you're last resort. But you've had two years of experience as a GP. You could get a job in New York easy. Whatever job you wanted…"

Gosh, that does sound tempting. I've liked being a GP a lot more than I expected too, but the thought of working as a surgeon- what I always wanted. Gosh, it's tempting….

"We could have it all Zoe. Or you could stay here, as a single mother living in the middle of Hicksville, exchanging awkward small talk with the man who shattered your heart while you pick up your bastard child from visitations."

Bastard child? He did not just say that about my baby. Goodness, it's not even the size of a walnut yet and I'm already in mama bear mode.

"Don't say that" I snap.

"It's the truth" he replies adamantly. "Zoe, there's nothing for you hear anymore. Everything you want- everything you need- it's with me, in New York."

"And where does the bastard child fit into all of this?" I snap angrily.

"I didn't mean it that way- Zoe, I promise you. I will love that baby like it's my own."

"But it isn't yours" I protest. "It's Wade Kinsella's and even though I hate him right now, I don't think I could lie to him, and to my baby about this. Not after my mother…"

"Hey" he interrupts. "You are not your mother Zoe. This is a completely different situation. No one will get hurt here, no one has to know."

It is like he is the little devil on my shoulder. I know this is wrong, but damn it what he's saying makes sense. A part of me wants this. A part of me wants to get out of Bluebell now and never see Wade again. But can I really so that? Can I really lie like that?

**Please Review!**


	6. Chapter 6

No. I can't lie. Not about this. Not to my baby, and not to Wade.

"I'm sorry" I say as I clear my throat.

"Give yourself some time to think about this" he replies as he strokes my hand. "It's a big decision Zoe, but I know you'll make the right one…"

"What can I get for y'all?" the waitress interrupts.

"Oh" I respond realizing I haven't looked at the menu yet.

"I'll have the chicken alfredo, and Zoe will have the Eggplant Parmesan."

I forgot about Zach's annoying habit of ordering food for me, and then looking at me like I should be impressed that he'd know what I want. Only nine times out of ten I _don't _want whatever he ordered. I hate eggplant.

"So" he says breezily, trying to change the tone of the conversation. "I read about the flu epidemic in Alabama, did that ever hit Bluebell?"

"Yes" I cringe remembering what happened. There were so many sick people, and I was the only doctor in town and Wade… Damn It! Can't I have a thought without Wade invading it?

"That must have been crazy" he says taking a sip of water.

"Insane" I agree.

"You're not as chatty as usual" he adds with a smile.

"Yeah, well I have a lot on my mind" I bite back.

"Not really" he responds smiling. "It's clear what the right decision is Zoe, I don't know why you're fighting it. You finally have an out. You can finally leave this terrible place…"

"Bluebell isn't terrible" I interject. "I've made friends here. And the people in the town finally trust me and respect, and I'm the town doctor…."

"And in New York, you can become a world renowned surgeon. Me and you can be so happy together Zo. We can eat at the best restaurants every night, instead of a tacky-ass Italian restaurant like this one…"

"I like this restaurant" I argue.

"Yes, but that's because you don't remember what good food is. You're settling Zoe. You're settling for everything in your life. You're settling for being a GP in a small town in the middle of nowhere when you could be an extraordinary surgeon. You're settling for being trapped here. And I mean, I can only imagine that you settled for this kid's father. He doesn't really sound like a prize. What does he even do for a living?"

"He's a bartender" I answer shifting uncomfortably.

"A bartender?" he laughs. "A doctor and a bartender, now that's funny."

Damn, his words take me back to Christmas, to what Wade said to me while I was in his arms.

"Wade's a really great guy!" I snap.

"He cheated on you" Zach replies confused.

"Yes, yes he did. But-"

"What could you even get from him Zo? I'm going to go ahead and guess he doesn't have a lot of money. But even if he did, you're a doctor. You don't need his support. He works a minimum wage job, and cheats. I mean what were you even doing with a loser like that in the first place?"

"Wade isn't a loser!" I snap.

"Why are you defending him?" he asks through gritted teeth.

"Because" I say standing up "You are acting like a pompous ass!"

"Zoe, look I'm sorry" he begs. "Just please sit down, we haven't even eaten yet."

"Well" I say tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. "I hate eggplant and I'm already feeling nauseous."

"Well, let me take you home" he begs.

"I can handle it" I bite back. "Enjoy your alfredo."

"Zoe wait!" he calls running after me. He ends up in front of me and gets down on one knee. What?

"Zoe" he says as he chokes back a tear.

Oh crap, oh no. Is he for real? Is he really doing this?

"The past two years have been the hardest of my life. Because I've been missing something important. Something I realize now, that I can't live without. You. So-"

"No" I interrupt looking at the reactions of all the passersby.

"Will you-"

"No."

"Marry-"

"No."

"Me."

"No. No. Please stand up. Now."

"But Zoe-"

"No. Please stand up. People are staring."

"Screw what people think Zoe!"

"Zach-"

"Come on! I know you want this!"

"Zach, stop it. Please."

"The lady said no" I hear a familiar voice hiss angrily. "So why don't you leave her the hell alone."

**Please Review!**


	7. Chapter 7

"Zoe, who the hell is this guy?" Wade asks angrily.

I stare awkwardly at Zach and Wade at a lost for what to say.

"Do you even know him?" he continues scowling at him.

"Of course I know him!" I snap. "I just don't want to marry him," I add looking Zach square in the eye.

Zach finally stands to his feet and moves towards Wade aggressively.

"This is the bastard that knocked you up?" he shouts.

And I swear I can actually hear the world crash around me. Crap! Oh crap!

"What did he just say?" Wade asks as his face drains pale.

"Zach, what the hell!?" I ask through clenched teeth. "I told you he doesn't know yet!"

"You're- pr- pregnant?" Wade asks his eyes wide with an emotion I can't quite gage. I think he's scared.

"Yes" I confirm in a quiet voice.

"And I'm the father?"

"Yes!" I shout. "Of course you're the father! I'm not like you, I don't sleep around!"

"Really?" he retorts. "Then who the hell is this guy?"

How dare he? We aren't together anymore- which is all his fault! If I want to sleep with Zach, he shouldn't have anything to say about it.

"He's my _ex_-boyfriend" I explain "from Medical school."

"I told her I'd raise the baby as if it were my own" Zach adds.

Shut up Zach! Oh my God could this be more awkward?

"So that's it?" Wade asks hurt.

"No" I reply sternly. "Wade, this is your baby. I'm not going to keep you from it. You can be as involved as you want to."

Wade stands there and he looks so stunned. "My- my baby" he repeats barely above a whisper.

"Zach" I say turning to him. "I'd like a minute alone with Wade. Please leave."

"Okay" he answers after a pause but then he leans in and whispers in my ear. "I know you Zoe, and this place, these people, they aren't for you."

I exhale sharply as he finally walks out. Wade still has a look of shock on his face.

"Are you okay?" I ask trying to sound as indifferent as possible.

"How long have you known?" he asks shakily.

"About a half hour" I say chuckling slightly. God, all of this is so surreal.

"So, you were going to tell me?" he asks avoiding eye contact, and I think I actually see tears forming in his eyes.

"Of course I was going to tell you" I answer.

"Are you- are you keeping it?" he asks.

"Yes" I reply placing my hand over my stomach protectively. "I'm keeping him."

"Him?"

"Oh" I respond nervously. "I don't know the sex yet. It's just a feeling, I know it must sound crazy."

"Well" he answers "this all is pretty crazy. That guy you were with-" he adds abruptly changing the subject. "You're not going to start dating him again, right? Because he seems like an ass."

"He kind of is" I agree. I don't know how I dated him for six years. Did I not notice how obnoxious he was back then? Was I that obnoxious back then? Has Bluebell really changed me that much?

Wade is so silent, I wish he'd say something.

"I made an appointment" I say finally interrupting the silence.

"What?" he asks confused.

"I made an appointment with an OB/GYN in Moblie. I didn't know if you'd want to come or not, it'll be pretty boring, but they'll probably do an ultrasound to confirm I'm pregnant so…"

"Yes" he says quickly interrupting me. "Yes, I, um- I'll be there. Just tell me the time and place…"

"I can text you more information" I nod.

"So, I'll see later?" I ask nervously.

"Yeah" he answers. "Definitely, you can um- call me if you need anything."

"I can do that" I respond coldly.

"Zoe?" he asks, and I can hear his voice start to break.

"Yeah?" I respond in a voice much weaker and huskier than I intended.

"I want to take care of you."

"Wade-" I interrupt.

"I know I don't have a lot, but I'll, um- I'll do whatever I can for you. I'm so sorry."

"You don't have to apologize" I reply with a smile.

"Yes, I do. I got you pregnant and then I-"

"Don't remind me" I interrupt. "I'm well aware of your… indiscretion."

"I'll give you whatever I can" he adds sadly.

"I know you will" I nod.

"I can't believe-"

"I know. I can't really believe it either."

"I always thought I'd have it more together if I ever actually became a father."

"You've imagined being a father before?"

"I mean, I guess a little. Hypothetically at least."

"When?"

"When we were together sometimes I'd think about- That was part of the reason I starting dreaming about owning my own bar again."

"Really?" I ask shocked.

"Yeah. I knew that if I'd need a serious job someday, if we were going to have the white picket fence kind of life."

Holy crap, Wade used to think about having a baby with me? I never knew that. Why did I never know that? I had no idea he was so…serious about me, or about anything for that matter.

"It must have really hurt you when you didn't win. I'm- um, um I'm sorry about that."

"Don't apologize, don't apologize about anything that happened that night. I was an ass. Zoe, I'm so sorry."

"Yeah" I say as I clear my throat. "I don't really want to talk about that."

There's another long silence finally broken by Wade.

"Does this change anything?"

"What?"

"About you and me. Does this mean that-"

"No" I reply. "I mean- I don't know. Wade, I don't know if I can trust you again. It's definitely going to take time."

"I have time."

"And I'm going to need space."

"I can give you that too. I'll keep my distance. But if anything happens with the baby, or you need anything-"

"I'll call you" I say reassuringly. "I swear Wade, I'll call you. Even if we never get back together- I want you to be involved with this baby. Assuming that's what you want."

"It is what I want" he answers. "I want this baby, and I want you Zoe."

His words cause my stomach to turn in knots. Damn it, he cheated on me! I can't go back to him. I can't go back to him. I won't.

"I should be heading home" I say softly.

"You stormed out of that restaurant pretty quickly, did you even eat?"

"No" I admit. "Stupid Zach ordered me eggplant."

"Why'd he do that? You hate eggplant."

"Yeah" I answer.

"My shift at the Rammer Jammer starts soon. I can buy you something."

"Wade, I don't know-"

"Please" he interrupts. "I hate to think about you being alone and hungry in the state you're in."

In the state I'm in? He makes it sound like I have some sort of terminal illness. I'm just pregnant! But he's being so sweet. And I am starving.

"Okay" I nod. "Let's go."

**Please Review!**


	8. Chapter 8

"Hey" I say as I see Wade enter the waiting room.

"Hey" he says back. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm good. Okay, that's a lie. I've been throwing up all morning" I confess with a smile.

"That sucks" Wade says sympathetically.

"Yeah, but it comes with the territory I guess" I chuckle. "Hold on a second I think that's my cell" I say as I hear my ringtone coming from my purse. I'm suddenly very happy I changed the ringtone I had last week. Sitting here with Wade while listening to Lily Anne sing "Run from Wade" would have been just plain awkward. "Oh crap, not again!"

"What's the matter?"

"It's Zach. This is like the twelfth time this week he's called" I groan

"Do you need me to talk to him?" Wade asks heatedly.

"No" I smile. "That's okay. He's just annoying."

"Well, if he gives you anymore trouble…"

"I'll know who to call" I reply with a smile. Wade is kind of cute when he's being protective. Damn it! No, I'm not going to admit to myself that's he's cute.

"You know Doc" Wade says as he clears his throat. "I've been debating about whether or not I should tell you this because I don't want to start another fight, but…"

"Oh crap" I interrupt as a million possibilities fly through my head about what he's going to say. "What?"

"I think it's a girl."

"What?"

"The baby. I feel like we're having a girl."

"Oh" I reply stonily. "It's okay, I'm not going to fight with you."

"Good" Wade smiles.

"Because I know you're wrong."

"Oh, is that so?" he teases.

"Yeah."

"Well one of us has to be wrong because it has to be one or the other, right? How soon until they can tell that anyway?"

"Oh it will probably be like four months." I explain as my hand goes to my belly. "Gosh, I'll be showing by then."

"What?" I snap after a moment when I notice Wade is staring at me with a goofy grin on his face.

"It's just- I think you'll look cute when you have a little baby bump."

"Well" I sigh. "I don't think I'm going to have a 'little baby bump,' women in my family tend to get as big as a house when they're pregnant."

"Oh" Wade laughs. "I'd pay money to see that."

"Shut up" I tease.

"What? I cannot picture that, you're such a tiny little thing."

"Well get ready, in a few months I'm not even going to be able to see my own toes."

"Well that's a shame, you have such pretty toes."

Damn it, is Wade flirting with me? In the OB/GYN's office, after cheating on me a few weeks ago? Why did he think this would be a good idea? And more importantly, why am I liking it?"

"Excuse me" a nurse says interrupting my thoughts. "Zoe Hart?"

"Yes" I reply standing up. "That's me."

"Well come on back" she says motioning her hand towards the door she came out of.

"This is Wade. He's my um- he's the baby's father. Can he come too?"

"Certainly" the nurse replies.

"I guess this is show time" Wade sighs as he stands to his feet. He seems so nervous, and suddenly I can't fight my urge to relieve some of his tension.

"Hey" I say softly. "I know this nerve-wracking, but just think in a few minutes we're going to see our baby for the first time."

"Our baby" he repeats. "I really love the sound of that."

"Well it does share both of our DNA" I say trying to steer the conversation away from where I know it's heading.

"I hope she has your eyes" he says softly.

"Are you two coming?" the nurse snaps.

"Yep" I say as I walk towards her. "Sorry."

"Hop on the scale" the nurse says.

"Okay" I say nervously. "Don't look!" I warn as I shoot him a death glare.

He rolls his eyes and turns around. "Zoe, you weigh like five pounds, what the big deal?"

"I'm a lady" I explain.

"Good" the nurse interrupts. "Now lean against the wall so I can take your height."

"Do I have to look away for this too?" Wade teases.

"Yes" I snap back.

"Seriously?" he asks.

"Yes."

"What? Ladies don't like people knowing their height either?"

"This lady doesn't. I'm a little vertically challenged."

"What?" Wade gasps. "Oh my God! You're short! I've never noticed before!" he teases.

"Shut up!" I laugh.

"How long have you two been together?" the nurse asks with a smile.

"Umm" I reply nervously.

"Five years" Wade says smiling at me. "We just got married a few weeks ago though, and now we have a little surprise. A honeymoon baby."

I shoot him a "what the hell?" look and he just grins even wider. Gosh he's an idiot, why is he doing this?

"Congratulations!" the nurse beams.

"Thank you" I reply nervously as the two of us follow her into an exam room.

"Okay Mrs. Hart-"

"Um, it's Doctor Hart" I interrupt.

"Sorry, Dr. Hart- if you could just change into this" she adds handing me a pink paper vest. "And use this to drape over your legs…" Oh crap, how did I not think of this before? I'm at the gynecologist with Wade. Could this be more humiliating? Maybe I can get him to leave and just come back for the ultrasound part…

"Um, I have to go to the bathroom" Wade says nervously as he walks out. Thank God, at least I can have some privacy while I'm changing.

But Wade returns quickly, only a few minutes after. But luckily, I've fully changed and am sitting on the table.

"Hey" he says nervously.

"Hey" I reply nodding awkwardly.

"Hello Dr. Hart" the doctor exclaims excitedly as she enters the room. Wow, that was quick.

"Hello" I reply nervously.

"So I hear you think you're pregnant?"

"Yep" I nod.

"Well, as you know home tests aren't 100% accurate, so we'll want to confirm that."

"Are you saying she might not be pregnant?" Wade asks nervously. He seems so worried. Goodness, he really is excited about this whole baby thing.

"It's very unlikely" I say reassuringly.

"We'll just want to do an ultrasound to confirm" the doctor adds as she pulls the machine closer. "This is a transvaginal ultrasound" she adds. "So you might feel some discomfort."

"Wade" I say softly.

"Yeah" he replies quickly, and I notice he's turned beat red.

"Do you think you could maybe stand a closer to my head?"

"Of course" he replies as he practically runs.

"Okay" the doctor says after a minute. "You are definitely pregnant, it's too soon to get a heartbeat, but here's your baby."

"Oh my God" I gasp happily.

"It doesn't look like anything" Wade whispers as he takes my hand.

"What?" I reply. "You don't see it? That little-"

"I didn't go to Medical school" he says softly with a smile. "This just looks like a bunch of lines to me."

"But it's our baby" I say as I start to tear up.

"Yeah" he says. "Pretty cool, huh?"

**Please Review!**


	9. Chapter 9

"Hello" I say nervously as Wade walks up to my table at the Rammer Jammer. It's only the second time I've been here since our break-up. It still is a little awkward to see Wade, but definitely not as awkward as it was before our appointment a few weeks ago. I think that seeing the ultrasound put things in perspective for both of us.

"What can I get for my girls?" Wade teases in a whisper, I assume because everyone in the place is staring at us like some big dramatic scene is about to play out. George is by far the worst offender though, he hasn't taken his eyes off of either one of us since I walked in and he's clenching both of his fists tightly.

"Your girls?" I reply arching a brow.

"Yes, you and little Bessie."

"Wow" I respond throwing my hands up. "If this is a girl- which it isn't- there is no way in hell we are naming her _Bessie._"

"Okay, okay. We have plenty of time to fight about this later. What do you want for breakfast Doc?"

"I'm not really sure" I moan. "Something that won't make me puke."

"Uhh- how does toast sound?"

"Good" I sigh. "Oh, by the way, I have another appointment with the OB/GYN on Friday. We'll be able to hear the heartbeat this time" I smile.

"That's awesome" Wade says loudly and everyone turns to look at us.

I stare at the floor nervously.

"I'll get your toast" Wade says quietly as he walks away.

"Hey" George says walking up to my table.

"Hey" I reply with a smile.

"So, you okay?"

"Yes" I sigh. "I'm fine."

"Good, because if you want me to make sure Wade stays away from you…"

"That's going to be a little impossible" I reply with a smile and an eye roll.

"What does that mean?" George asks suspiciously.

"Just that it's Bluebell" I explain quickly covering for myself. "You can't really avoid anyone in Bluebell."

"Well if you need my help…"

"George, it's fine, really" I say reassuringly.

"Okay" he smiles. "It's good to see you Zoe."

"Good to see you too" I nod.

Before he's even walked away Annabeth is standing in front of me.

"Hey Zoe" she says softly.

"Hey Annabeth" I reply with a warm smile. "How's it going?"

"Good. Good. Okay, that's a lie. I need to ask you something, it's kind of been driving me crazy…"

"Okay. What's up?"

"Now that you and Lavon are both single, and your living together do you anticipate any… sparks?"

"No" I interrupt quickly. "No, Lavon and I are_ just_ friends, don't worry. Besides, my life is way too crazy right now for me to start dating again."

"Really?" she asks as she takes the seat next to me. "What's up?"

"Oh, you know just the whole break up with Wade. Plus I'm like super busy at work."

"Right, right" she nods awkwardly. "Did you like the pie?"

"I loved it" I answer smiling, trying to forget the memory of throwing it up.

"Did you have it warm with ice cream, it's best when it's warm with ice cream."

Her words make my stomach tie up in knots, and I'm certain I'm going to puke again. "It was delicious" I say as I cringe. "Very, very good pie. Thank you."

"No problem" she smiles. "It's the least I could do after all that help you gave about the Lemon and Lavon issue."

"Well" I shrug "I'm a doctor, that's what we do."

"Here's your toast doc" Wade says as he places the plate in front of me. "I got you some ginger ale too, to help settle your stomach."

"Thank you" I reply with a smile as he walks away.

"Well, I've got to split" Annabeth says as she gets up. "It was nice talking to you Zoe."

"You too" I nod as I take a sip of ginger ale.

I eat the toast fairly quickly, and then wait for Wade to come back with the bill. But after twenty minutes I still haven't seen him.

"Wade" I call out as I walk towards the bar.

"What's up?" he replies walking over to me.

"It's just- I'm kind of in a hurry. Could I have the bill?"

"It's on me" he shrugs.

"That's sweet, but you don't have to do that" I reply reaching into my purse.

"No" he commands. "I want to do this. I like making sure that you and Bessie are taken care of."

"Okay, once again it's a boy, and the name Bessie sucks."

"Really?" Wade teases. "You've come up with a better name?"

"Not for a girl" I say back. "Because that would be a waste of time. We're having a boy."

"And you came up with a name for a boy?" he asks.

"Yes" I admit.

"Okay, what is?"

"Blaine" I reply proudly.

"_Blaine_?" he asks distastefully. "No, no son of mine is going to be named Blaine. It's like your just asking for the kid to be an uppity jerk."

"Okay" I shrug. "How's this for a deal- we agree that our baby won't be named Blaine or Bessie."

"Deal" he nods. "How about Susanna?"

"Susanna" I reply thinking it over. "Okay, I actually kind of like that."

There's an awkward moment of silence as we smile at each other.

"But-" I add "Like I said, it's a boy so-"

"Right" he smirks. "See you later Doc."

"See you" I smile as I walk out.

"Zoe" I hear Zach call out as I walk out of the Rammer Jammer. Crap.

"Zach" I reply feigning enthusiasm "You're _still_ in Alabama."

"I'm not going anywhere until I get you to come with me."

"Yeah, well- that's not going to happen so-"

"How are you feeling?" he asks as he puts his hand over my stomach.

"Fine" I reply coldly as I back away.

He grabs my arm. "Listen, Zoe."

"Zach, let go!" I yell as I try to pull away.

"Look, if you'd just hear me out."

"No" I say as I try harder to pull away from him.

"Let go, you're hurting me."

"Zoe, just listen. Please!"

"No" I yell as I finally release myself from his grip, but as I do I fall to the ground. A sharp pain radiates through my abdomen. Oh God, the baby. No!

"What the hell is going on out here?" Wade yells as he runs from the Rammer Jammer.

"Zoe!" he yells as he pulls me into his arms. "Baby, what happened? What's wrong?"

"The baby" I choke through sobs.

"I didn't mean to-" Zach says horrified.

"Did he hurt you?" Wade asks enraged as he tries to wipe tears from my face.

"Zoe, I'm so sorry" Zach adds as he moves towards me.

"Get the hell out of here!" Wade yells. "Get the hell out of here, or I swear to God I will kill you!"

With that Zach takes off, hopefully for good. I'm so mad at him I could kill him myself. If he hurt my baby-

"Do you think you're having a-" Wade can't finish his question, but I know what he's asking.

"I don't know" I cry as my hand moves over my belly.

Wade stares at me for a moment and then his tone softens significantly. "The baby's fine Zoe. The baby's fine" he says softly. "I'm going to get you help now" he adds as he picks me up off the ground. "It's all okay now."

**Please Review!**


	10. Chapter 10

I sit in the hospital bed and stare into the distance while Wade paces nervously.

"How are you feeling?" he finally asks breaking the silence.

"Sore" I reply as I shift uncomfortably.

"Is there anything I can get for you?" he asks as he readjusts one of my pillows.

"I'm fine" I reply "just anxious to hear about the baby."

"I have no idea what the hell is taking them so long" Wade says through clenched teeth.

Suddenly he's interrupted as the doctor walks into the room.

"Hello Dr. Hart" he says as he looks over his chart. "You took quite the fall."

"We know that" Wade snaps. "What we don't know is if our baby is okay."

"We don't know that for sure either" the doctor says as he walks towards me. "We'll have to perform an ultrasound. I'll send someone in to do that as soon as I'm done examining you."

"You don't have to do that" I reply urgently. "I'm fine, I just want to know if my baby is okay."

"Doc" Wade says softly. "I'm just as worried about the baby as you are, but it's important that you're okay too. Come on."

"Okay" I shrug.

The Doctor checks me over. Pretty standard stuff. He tests my reflexes, asks me to follow his finger with my eyes, but I wish he'd hurry up all ready. I'm so worried about my baby I just want to know what's going on.

"Does this feel uncomfortable?" the doctor asks as he presses his hand into my side.

"Yes!" I shriek as I jerk away.

"Okay" he says softly. "Dr. Hart, you have several bruised ribs, but only one of them seems to be cracked."

"The bastard broke her ribs?" Wade asks angrily as he takes my hand.

"Wade" I say softly. "He didn't mean to hurt me."

"Even so, he better stay away or I'm going to…"

"Are you done now?" I ask the doctor, purposefully interrupting Wade from saying something stupid.

"Yes" the doctor says.

"Well aren't you going to do anything?" Wade asks. "She has broken ribs."

"There isn't much they can do for that" I explain.

"You'll just need plenty of rest" the doctor adds pointing at me. "I mean it Dr. Hart, I know how terrible doctors are at being patients, but you've got to take care of yourself and that little guy" he adds as he walks out the door.

"Ha!" I say as I turn to Wade. "Told you, even the doctor thinks it's a boy."

"Well that doctor seems like an idiot" Wade says under his breath. "They're really not going to do anything to help you? What was the point of even checking you over, all he did was press on it and make it worse."

"It's fine" I say smiling at him.

"What?" he asks.

"Nothing" I shrug, "it's just kind of cute when you're being overprotective."

"Speaking of that, I want to ask you something" he says nervously.

"Oh?" I ask.

"The doctor says you need rest, so I figure you'll need someone to take care of you for a few weeks at least."

"Well, I have Lavon" I say softly.

"Yeah" Wade shrugs. "But, I was kind of hoping, that you'd maybe consider moving in with me. Just until you're all healed."

"What?" I ask.

"Hello!" a nurse calls interrupting me before I can answer. Thank God. I have no idea what I was going to say. Move in with Wade? We didn't even live together when we were dating.

"This is going to feel a little cold" the nurse says as she squirts the ultrasound gel on me.

"Ooh" I respond as I squirm. "You weren't kidding."

"Okay" she says as she moves the wand around. "If we hear a heartbeat, there is no reason to think that your baby isn't absolutely fine."

I clutch Wade's hand for support and he smiles down at me like the gesture means that something between us has changed. It hasn't, I just can't stand the suspense.

I feel my heart drop into my stomach after a minute when we still haven't heard anything.

"Oh God" I say as tears start to fill my eyes.

"It's okay sweetheart" Wade says softly as he holds my hand tighter.

Just as I'm about to give up hope the most beautiful sound I've ever heard in my life echoes through the room.

"Oh my God" I say with a smile as I look at him. "There it is. That's the heartbeat. That's our baby!"

He smiles at me even wider. "See, I told you! Little Susie is just fine."

"Wait a minute" I say as I pause. "Is that… do I hear two heartbeats?"

"The ultrasound is picking up two heartbeats" the nurse confirms.

"That's good, right?" Wade says. "Two heartbeats, yours and the baby's."

"No" I sigh. "Wade, the ultrasound wouldn't pick up my heartbeat. It means we're having twins!"

"Twins?" he asks as his eyes widen and all the color drains from his face. He pauses for a moment and I think he's trying to decide if this is a good thing or a bad thing. But finally a wide, goofy grin spreads across his face.

"I guess this means we might both be right" he laughs.

"I guess so" I sigh. Oh my gosh this is unreal. A minute ago I wasn't sure if I had lost my baby, and now… I'm having _two_. Two babies. With Wade. I'm having two babies with Wade. Man, this is unreal.

"How do you feel dear?" the nurse asks softly.

"I'm a little tired" I admit.

"Well, how about you take a nap, and then fill out the release paper work."

Her offer is tempting, I'm really exhausted, but I also really want to get out of this hospital.

"I would like to get out of here…" I sigh.

"Doc" Wade scolds. "You heard the other doc, you need to get your rest. I'll start up the paperwork, now put your head down and close your eyes.

"Okay" I sigh. "You win. I'll take a nap."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

I stir in my half-conscious state as I begin to hear a noise. After a moment, I discern that noise as Wade's voice. Is he talking to me?

I feel his hand rub my belly, and I realize he's talking to the babies.

"Listen little ones" he says as he clears his throat. "Daddy's really sorry. He did something really, really dumb and that's the reason your daddy and mommy aren't together right now. But listen, I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that isn't true by the time you're born. The four of us are going to be a family: minivan, white picket fence, church on Sunday, the works. I just got to get your mommy to trust me again. It's going to take time, but I'm gonna do it because the three of you are all that matters in the whole world to me. Now, I've screwed a lot of things up in my life, but I'm not going to screw this up. I'm going to be good to you guys. I'm going to be the best daddy there is. I'm going to make you and mommy happy."

He pauses for a second and then I feel his lips against my stomach. He's kissing my belly. Holy crap, I think this might be the cutest thing I've ever heard of in my life.

"Oh" he adds. "If someone named Zach or George Tucker, or well anyone who isn't me ever says he's your daddy don't believe him. He's a liar." I internally roll my eyes.

I'm not really sure what to do now. A part of me really wants the life Wade just described. And I want it with him…

But another part of me feels like I can never trust him again. I want to believe that he's going to make it up to me, I want to believe that he'll never cheat again, but I just can't help but picture myself, alone with two kids trying to explain to them why daddy took off. I know how much that hurts because I've been there myself, and I can't do that to my kids. And even if Wade never cheats again, every time he's around another woman I'm going to wonder. Can I be in a relationship like that? One that's built on doubt rather than trust.

I roll over and open my eyes.

"Hey sleepyhead" he says looking down at me. "Feeling better?"

"Yeah" I sigh.

"You ready to go home?"

"Yeah" I answer. I'm just not sure which home I'm going to.

**Please Review!**


	11. Chapter 11

"This is just for a few weeks" I remind Wade as he holds the door to his place open for me. "Just until m my ribs heal."

"Right" he nods.

"And it's only because I don't want you to be worried about the babies."

"Well, I do appreciate that, Doc" he winks at me.

"Wait a minute" I pause as a thought enters my mind.

"What's wrong?" Wade asks urgently.

"Nothing, it's just- you only have one bed."

"Oh" he sighs. "I did not think of that."

"This is stupid" I shrug. "I have a perfectly good bed it's only a couple feet from here-"

"Now, now" Wade interrupts. "Don't be hasty. We can figure something out. I've got a perfectly good couch."

"Wade, I really don't want to sleep on your couch."

"Of course not" Wade scoffs. "You take the bed, I take the couch."

"Oh" I sigh. "Are you sure about this, I mean-"

"I'm positive. I don't want to hear another word about it. Now, what would you like for dinner- you must be starving."

"I am kind of hungry" I admit.

"Okay then" he says as he looks inside his mini fridge. "I've got beer and a pack of hotdogs."

"Oh" I groan as I put my hand on my stomach.

"What's wrong?"

"It's just- the sound of hotdogs makes me feel- I don't think I could stomach it."

"Oh, okay, that's fine. Hey, how about I get you some take out."

"Okay" I smile.

"What are you in the mood for?"

"You know what would be great?"

"What?"

"Pizza"

"Okay" Wade nods. "Uhh, what toppings do you want."

"Oooh" I say as I think. "Um- how about anchovies, and olives, and mushrooms with extra cheese."

Wade looks at me with a disgusted grimace on his face. "Hot dogs sound gross to you, but _that _sounds good?"

"I have a craving" I shrug. "I am pregnant after all."

"Fair enough" he sighs. "How about I get a 12-cut with half- all that crap you want on it and half with pepperoni."

"Sounds good" I nod with a smile. "Do you think Lavon would want some?"

"Lavon can buy his own damn pizza, I'm not running a food pantry here."

I look down for a moment. "I can pay for the pizza…"

"Zoe, that's not what I meant. I want to buy things for you. I know I can't afford designer clothes or fancy cars, but I can swing a pizza. It's just- if we give it all away to Lavon, you're not going to have anything to eat while I'm at work tomorrow."

"What do you mean?"

"I work all day."

"Yeah…" I reply confused "So do I."

"Zoe, you're not going to work, you heard the doctor."

"Wade, he didn't say anything about taking time off of work."

"He said to take it easy."

"Well I work in an office, it's not like I'm a Quarterback or anything."

"If you go to work I'm going to worry about you all day long."

I look at him sympathetically, he really is cute when he's being this overprotective. "Wade, I promise, it's fine. I'm a doctor. If I had a patient with a broken rib, I would tell them it was fine to go to work, just that they should be careful- and I will be."

"Okay" Wade says hesitantly. "But make sure Brick and everyone else in the office knows what's going on with you."

"Okay" I smile.

"And if Leonard Jennings comes in, make sure Brick sees him. That guy is seriously huge, I don't want you to have to be moving him around or anything."

"Okay" I repeat reassuringly as I pour myself a glass of water.

"And don't be moving around furniture or anything…"

"Wade" I interrupt. "I'm a doctor, why the hell would I move furniture?"

"There's chairs and stuff at the office- if it needs to be moved have Brick do it."

"Okay" I say with a smile. "If for some reason it becomes necessary for us to rearrange the chairs in the office, I won't sign myself up to be the one to do it."

"Thank you" Wade nods. "I guess I'll order the pizza now."

"Sounds like a pan" I reply with a wink as I sit down on the bed.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"So" Wade says as I work on my third piece of pizza "have you given any thought about names for the other baby, you know, names for a boy."

"I have" I reply illusively.

"Care to share?" Wade asks as he takes a sip of beer.

"Well, I'm a little nervous since your reaction to 'Blaine' was less than enthusiastic."

"Well Zo, I can promise you one thing, I will like whatever name you come up with next more than _Blaine_."

"Okay" I reply nervously. "It's just- I really like this one, so even if you don't like it don't make fun of it."

"I won't, I promise."

"Okay, I was thinking of the name Wilkes. Like my father's family's last name. I don't know maybe we could call him Will or something for short. It's just- they had a long history in this town, and if it weren't for my father me and you never would have met-"

"It's perfect" Wade interrupts. "I love it- Susanna and Wilkes Kinsella."

"Okay" I smile as I place a hand on my belly. "Sounds good."

**Please Review!**


	12. Chapter 12

"Good morning Dr. Breeland" I say with a smile as I enter the office.

"Good morning" a voice that I wasn't expecting responds.

"Jonah?" I ask confused "Where's Brick?"

"He took the day off, I'm filling in for him."

"Oh?" I ask eyeing him up and down.

"Yeah" he responds. "And I filled in for_ you_ yesterday when you decided to take the day off."

"I did not decide to…. Never mind."

"It's okay" he replies "I get it, breakups can be tough. You know what might help?"

"What's that?" I ask bemused as I pick up my first patient of the day's chart.

"Sex."

"I'm all set" I reply as I roll my eyes.

"I'm serious" he continues.

"Oh, I know you are" I reply.

He winks at me as I walk away and I roll my eyes again. And my first patient is… George.

"Hey George" I say with a smile as I walk in the exam room. "What's going on?"

"Um, sore throat" he answers. "Just thought I'd get it checked out."

"Okay" I reply as I walk over to him. "How long has it been bothering you?"

"Oh, I don't know a couple of days" he answers nonchalantly. "How are you doing?" he asks as he places his hand on my arm.

"Fine" I answer suspiciously. "Open wide."

"What?"

"Your mouth, you need to open your mouth, I'm going to run a strep test."

"Oh" he answers. "Right, right."

"Good job" I say as I remove the swab from his throat. "I'll be right back."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"You don't have strep" I say as I make my way back into the exam room. "It could be a virus. Have you had any other symptoms?"

"No, not really. I'm sure I'm fine" he answers quickly. "How are you doing, you know with the whole Wade thing?"

"I'm good George, really."

"Are you sure?"

"George, did you really have a sore throat or did you just come here to check up on me?"

"Uh… both?" he answers guiltily.

"You didn't have to do this George, we're friends, you could've just talked to me."

"Well I went over to see you yesterday, but Lavon said you weren't home. Where were you anyway?"

"Oh, um… I was at the Rammer Jammer" I lie.

"Really?" George asks. "Because Tansy was there and she didn't mention seeing you."

"We must have missed each other" I shrug. "Rest and take plenty of fluids" I add as I hand him a small stack of paperwork.

"What?"

"To get better. This is a doctor's appointment, remember?"

"Right. Right. Thanks" he responds. "Zoe, where were you last night?"

"George, I already told you."

"Zoe, come on. I know you better than that, don't lie to me."

"George, I have other patients" I snap in an annoyed tone.

"Okay, okay sorry. I'll get out of your hair."

"Thank you" I nod.

"It's just- you weren't with Wade, were you?"

"George!"

"Because I don't think that's a good idea."

"Look-"

"Zoe, I know you've got a huge heart, and you're trusting and forgiving. But, it's like Tansy says- once a cheater-"

"I get it!" I interrupt. "Thank you George." Gosh, like I needed an in-my-face reminder that I can't trust Wade like that again. It's like a knife in my chest. I know George is trying to help in his own way, but reminding me of what Wade and I will never have again only hurts.

"If you need anything, you can call me all right?"

"Thank you" I repeat.

"See you later?"

"Yep" I reply coldly. "Have a nice day."

I hope every appointment isn't going to be like that one… It's going to be a long day.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Hey doc" Wade says cheerfully as I make my way through his front door. "Tough day?"

"Mmmm" I moan as I sit down.

"You sore?" he asks concerned as he sits next to me.

"My feet are killing me" I reply.

"I could… I mean I could rub them for you" he says nervously.

"Thanks, I just don't know how um- appropriate that would be…" I answer with a strained smile, concerned that me and Wade may be getting a little too comfortable with one another.

"Right, sorry."

"Don't be sorry, it's just- I don't want to lead you on."

"You're not" he answers quickly. "Don't worry about that."

"So" I say after a long silence. "What are you in the mood for?"

"What?" he replies with a blush.

"What do you want?" I ask.

"Ummm, I mean- I don't want anything you're not ready for…"

"What?" I ask confused. "Oh my God, no. Wade, I meant for dinner… What do you want to eat?"

"Oh" he chuckles nervously. "Right… um, we have pizza left from last night."

"Sounds good" I smile nervously staring at the floor.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Who knows you're pregnant?" Wade asks out of the blue as I help him clear off the dishes from the table.

"Just you, and Lavon, and… Zach" I reply. "Why do you ask?"

"I was just wondering when you wanted to tell people."

"Well" I sigh. "A lot of times couples wait until the first trimester is over, because then the chance of miscarriage is significantly lower. Why do you ask?"

"Well" he says nervously as he scratched the back of his neck. "I was wondering if you'd be all right with me telling my father."

"You want to tell Earl about the babies?" I ask softly.

"Yeah" he shrugs. "I think it'd make him happy."

"Then you should" I smile. "I'll be he'll be really excited."

Our eyes lock for a moment as we smile at one another, and then, as if on cue, there's a knock at the door.

"I'll get it" I say as I make my way across his house.

"Hello?" I answer as I fling the door open. And then it registers who I'm looking at. Oh crap.

"Hey mom" I say nervously.

**Please Review!**


	13. Chapter 13

"Mom, what are you doing here?"

"Well, I knew you were down so I thought I'd surprise you with a visit. But that man you live with said you were over here at your ex-boyfriends house which confused me since a few weeks ago on the phone you were crying because he cheated on you."

I look at my mother and then I look at Wade uncomfortably.

"Wade had an… um medical emergency."

"Oh?" my mother asks looking around. "And this medical emergency required the two of you to eat dinner together?"

"Mom, it isn't what you think…"

"Hey, it's your life. I just don't want you to do anything without thinking it through."

"I'm not-"

"I mean, there are plenty of fish in the sea there is no need to stay with this jackass."

"I'm standin' right here" Wade interrupts.

"And I'm ignoring you" my mother answers.

"Mom, me and Wade aren't getting back together."

I notice that when I say this Wade tenses, and my mother 's look changes from pissed off to confused.

"Then why are you over here, and don't give me that 'medical emergency' crap either."

"Okay" I mutter seeing no way to avoid telling her the truth. "I'm pregnant… with twins."

"What?" my mother laughs. "This is a joke, right?"

"No" I reply nervously. "No, this isn't a joke"

"Oh my… Oh my God" my mother gasps. "How far along are you?"

"Like six weeks" I answer staring at the floor.

"When were you going to tell me?"

"I don't know" I shrug. "It's just all happened so fast and me and I'm only living here for a few weeks until…"

"You're living here?" my mom shrieks. "You don't have to do this you know."

"Do what?"

"Make nice with this son-of-a-bitch just because he knocked you up."

"Once again I'm standing_ right_ here" Wade mutters annoyed.

"Mom-"

"Come back to New York with me-"

"What is up with people asking me to go to New York with them?" I say under my breath as I roll my eyes.

"Zoe stop mumbling!" my mother snaps. "You know how much I hate that."

"Sorry" I sigh. "Mom, I can't go to New York with you. I know Wade screwed up with our relationship, but these are his babies too, I'm not going to take them away from him."

"You think I don't know your plan?" my mother asks Wade.

"My plan?"

"You got Zoe to live here with you so you could seduce her."

"Mom!" I snap. "Please don't ever say the word 'seduce' ever again."

"I'm not letting this happen" she says as she sits on Wade's couch and crosses her arms over her chest. "As long as Zoe is staying here, so am I."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Zoe, can I have a word with you in the kitchen?" Wade asks.

"Sure" I answer as I follow him. "But the kitchen is a foot away, she's still going to be able to hear us."

"How do we get her to leave?" he asks through gritted teeth.

"Oh, we don't."

"What?"

"We don't. She isn't going to leave until she gets her way."

"I am not living with your mother!"

"That's fine Wade, I understand. I'll get my stuff together-"

"Whoa, whoa, no. I don't want _you_ to leave" he interrupts.

"Well that's really our only option if you want her to leave."

"Fine" Wade sighs. "She can stay. I'm sure the three of us will have fun getting to know each other."

"You have met my mother right? She's the very unpleasant woman who is setting up camp on your couch."

"Well she can't be that bad" he sighs.

"Oh no" I argue. "She is. And normally I deal with her by drinking, but now…"

"Well" he says as he puts his hand on my arm. "Now we'll deal with her together. Team Zade!"

"What? What the hell does that mean?"

"Zade- it's your name, and my name… never mind. My point is, we can face this obstacle together."

"Okay" I say as an unexpected smile wipes across my face. "That sounds good."

"Okay, so we should make a plan. For Phase 1 we should-" Wade is interrupted by yet another knock on the door.

"I'll get it" my mother announces as she makes her way over to the door.

"W-Wade?" Earl drunkenly stutters as he cocks his head to the side and stares at my mother. "You look awful."

"Earl, for the love of God that's Zoe's mother. I'm over here" Wade snaps.

"Oh" he replies as he looks my mother over a second time. "In that case, you look amazling!"

"What the hell do you want?" Wade asks annoyed.

"I've got bugs!" Earl yells as my mother cringes and backs away from him.

"What?" Wade asks.

"At my house. I need a place to stay while they fumli-funinigate it."

"Well you can't stay here" Wade replies as he rolls his eyes. "We've already got a full house."

"Wade, come on" I argue. "He doesn't have any place to go. Look, I don't _need _to stay here. This is getting crazy."

"No, I'm not letting them win" Wade snaps with determination in his voice.

"Wade, there isn't even enough room for everybody to sleep here."

"Nonsense. I've got sleeping bags. We'll all be one, big happy family. Zoe, can I speak to you in the kitchen again?"

"Sure" I mutter.

"I just realized something!" he says excitedly.

"What?"

"This is perfect."

"Really? I ask. You think us living with my mother and crazy Earl is perfect?"

"Earl will be out of here in a few days once they've fumigated his place. And in the meantime, he's going to scare your mother away! We won't have to do anything!"

"I don't know" I argue. "Do you really think Earl is going to scare away my mom that easily?"

"Listen" he says as he points to the two of them sitting on the couch.

"You ever try moonshine?" Earl asks my mother.

"No" she replies as she inches away from him.

"You should."

"Right, because it's done wonders for you" she retorts as she rolls her eyes.

"Maybe you're right" I smile. "Maybe he will scare her off."

"And then it will just be the two of us again" he replies as he smiles back at me.

"Actually" I argue as I put my hand over my belly. "The four of us…. But I'm still only staying here for a few weeks" I remind him.

"Right" he nods as he tries to hold back a smile. "Just a few weeks."

**Please Review!**


	14. Chapter 14

"Ahh!" I hear my mother scream, startling me awake.

"What is it?" I gasp as I try to catch my breath.

"What is _this?" _she squeals disgusted as she points to something in front of the door.

"Oh" Earl says as he stumbles over to her. "I shot that last night, it's a squirrel… I think."

"And you left it in front of the door? Do you think you're a cat?"

"Why did you open the front door in the first place?" Wade asks excitedly. "Were you leaving?"

"I was trying to get the newspaper… looks like the paperboy missed you."

"Wade doesn't get the paper" I explain as I get out of bed.

"What?" she gasps. "What kind of Neanderthal doesn't get the paper?"

"Lavon gets the paper" he explains. "I only read the sports section anyway."

"Figures" my mother says as she rolls her eyes. "Do you have anything here for breakfast? It looks like all you have in your refrigerator is cheap beer and pizza."

"And hotdogs" Wade adds. "Don't forget the hotdogs."

"And this man is going to be taking care of your children in seven and a half months" she scoffs.

"Mom!" I scold. "Be quiet. Earl doesn't know yet" I add in a whisper.

"Well that's probably for the best" she mumbles as we both watch him mutter something to himself and take a swig from a flask he pulled out of his pocket.

"Where'd you get this?" Wade snaps as he takes it out of his hand.

"I brought it from home" he replies as he snatches it back.

"Earl, it's 8:00 in the morning, and you're still drunk from last night. Why don't you give it a rest?"

"Fine" he says as he stands to his feet. "But the pretty lady's right, we need something to eat."

"Do you think Lavon would mind if we all headed over to his place for breakfast?"

"Probably" I nod. "Wouldn't you?"

"I suppose we could all head on over to the Rammer Jammer…"

"The bar you work at? Perfect!" Earl responds with a smile.

"We're going for _food_" Wade scolds as he hands Earl a sweater.

"Yes mom" he says as he rolls his eyes.

"The Rammer Jammer?" my mother asks. "That sounds very…kitsch."

"Behave" I mutter.

"Of course" she responds. "This should be fun."

"M'lady" Earl says as he reaches his hand out to my mother.

To my surprise, she takes it and they walk out the door together. I shoot Wade a "What the hell was that?" look and he just smirks and walks over to me

"M'lady" he says teasingly as he reaches his hand out to me.

"Oh stop it" I laugh as I slap his arm playfully.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"What can I get for you?" Shelley asks as she looks at the four of us confused.

"Ummm, I suppose I'll try your pancakes" my mother says as she takes a napkin from her purse, dips it in her glass of water, and wipes it around the table in front of her.

"I'll have a beer" Earl says as he smiles at Shelley.

"No!" Wade interrupts. "He'll have eggs, and coffee, lots and lots of coffee for this one. And, I'll have eggs too."

"What do you want Zoe?" she asks me sweetly.

"Ummm, just toast for me, thanks" I smile.

"You should have some protein" my mother says. "Why don't you get some eggs too?"

"No thank you" I reply as I take a sip of water.

"Zoe, you need to take care of yourself."

"I am" I snap. "If I eat eggs I'm just going to throw them up…"

"You got one of those eatin' disorders they talk about on the Dr. Phil show?" Earl asks as he tilts his head.

"No!" Wade snaps at him.

"I'm fine, Earl" I nod.

"Hey guys!" Tansy says as she walks over to our table.

"Hello Tansy" Wade says nervously.

"Hey" Earl says as he smiles and points at her. "Haven't seen you in a while."

"Who is that?" my mother whispers.

"Wade's ex-wife" I respond.

"Zoe" George calls out as he joins us. "What's going on here?"

"We're just getting breakfast" Earl responds. "You should join us."

"No" Wade whispers.

"All right" George says as he takes a seat from another table and slides it in between me and Wade.

"Zoe, what the hell are you doing?" he whispers.

"George, now isn't the time…"

"What, are you just going to pretend that Wade didn't…"

"Hey!" I interrupt looking around the table at everyone. "Why don't we sing!"

"What?" my mother asks as she sneers at me.

"Whatever happened to just singing for no reason? We should sing!"

"I think that's a great idea" Earl says. "I like this one, Wade don't you let her get away."

"Uh… Thank you" I smile nervously. "So what should we-"

"Moon River wider than a mile!" Earl sings loudly.

"Damn it" Wade mumbles.

"I just think you're making a huge mistake" George says loudly.

"George!" Tansy scolds. "This really isn't any of our business."

"You should listen to this young man" my mom argues. "He knows what he's talking about."

"No he doesn't" Wade says through gritted teeth.

"I'm crossin' you in style someday!" Earl continues to sing.

"For the love of God Earl, shut it!" Wade snaps.

"I just don't want to see one of my best friends make the biggest mistake of her life" George says angrily.

"George, there are some factors of which you are unaware, but I'm making the best decision I can…"

"'Factors of which I am unaware' What the hell does that mean?" he asks.

"George!" Tansy scolds again.

"I just think you're about to ruin your life…"

"I'm pregnant!" I announce loudly. Oh my God, did I really just do that? Everyone in town is gaping at me. I wish I could sink into a hole…

"Ha!" Earl says happily. "I'm going to be a granddaddy!"

"Yeah" I say sheepishly as I look at Wade to gage his response. He looks just as nervous as I feel.

I feel something brush against my leg and realize that Earl is kneeling down in front of me.

"Oh dream maker, you heart breaker. Wherever your goin' I'm goin' your way" he continues as he sings softly to my stomach.

Dear Lord, could this situation get any more ridiculous or embarrassing.

"Hey Zoe" I hear a familiar voice behind me say nervously.

Oh crap, Zach is back!

**Please Review!**


	15. Chapter 15

"Zach!" my mother says excitedly as she gets up from her chair and hugs him. "It's great to see you!"

"Great to see you too Candice" he replies.

"Okay, this reunion is very touching, but you need to get the hell out of here" Wade says as he gets up from his chair and walks over to them.

"Zoe," my mother says. "Are you going to let Wade talk to Zach like that?"

"I just wanted to apologize" Zach says defensively.

"Apologize for what?" George asks.

"He pushed Zoe and broke her ribs" Wade explains angrily.

"What?" he gasps as he gets up and walks over to Zach.

"Oh, that's a lie" my mother sighs.

"He didn't push me, I fell" I clarify.

"Yeah, you fell because you were trying to get away from him. He could have hurt the babies."

"Wait" Tansy interjects. "Babies, as in more than one?"

"I'm having twins" I explain nervously.

"There's two of them in there?" Earl asks happily as he pats my tummy. "Oh this is gonna be so much fun! I'm gonna take you huntin' and fishin.'"

"Like anyone would let you watch their kids" my mother says as she rolls her eyes. The look on Earl's face changes from happiness to devastation and he suddenly becomes very quiet.

"Mom!" I snap. "Why did you have to say it like that!?"

"Okay" Wade says as he takes Zach by the arm "You're getting' out of here." George assists Wade, taking Zach by the other arm as they walk him out.

"Zoe, for heaven's sakes are you going to let them man handle him like that?" my mother scolds.

"I- I don't know!" I snap as tears begin to form in my eyes. "Would everyone just leave me the hell alone!?" I add as I storm out.

"Zoe?" Wade asks calling after me as I storm past him, but I don't answer him. I have to get out of here, I need to be by myself.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

I sit on Wade's bed and start to sob. I haven't cried like this in a long time. Everything has just been building and building. Wade cheating, us breaking up, me finding out I'm pregnant, telling Wade, the scare after I fell, everyone in town finding out, everyone being in my face…

"Hey Doc" I hear Wade say softly, interrupting my thoughts.

"I-I'm sorry" I say as I brush tears out of my face.

"Don't be sorry" he says as he sits next to me on the bed. "Hey, I'm sorry about all of that back there."

"It wasn't your fault. I'm sorry that I blurted out I was pregnant like that."

"It's okay" he says as he puts his arm around me. "It got Tucker to shut up."

We both laugh, and then our eyes lock. I miss this. I miss being this close to him, and for a moment I forget everything that's happened. I forget all the advice everyone has given me, and I forget how much he's hurt me. I forget to think. I slowly move my face closer to him and then our lips crash together.

Wade runs his fingers through my hair and moans in my mouth as the kiss intensifies. After a few minutes I feel Wade push down on my jacket, and I assist him in removing it. He lays me down on the bed and then smiles at me. "I love you" he says as he starts to kiss my neck.

And then it hits me. Holy crap, what the hell am I doing? I can't sleep with Wade! What is wrong with me?

"No" I say as I push him away and sit up.

"I- I'm sorry" he says as he puts his hand on my back.

"No" I say softly as I fight tears. "No, I'm sorry. This isn't fair to you. I- I should probably move out."

"Zoe" he says shocked. "No, please-"

"I'm not going to keep you from the babies" I explain. "I just don't want to lead you on-"

"Damn it Zoe" he says frustrated. "Look, I'm always going to want to be with you. Always. Especially now that you're carrying my babies, but even if there can't be more between us, even if we're just friends for the rest of our lives, I don't want you to leave. And it isn't just because of the babies. It's because I'd miss you."

"I live right next door" I smile.

"I don't care, I want you here."

"I don't want to hurt you" I say shakily.

"The only way you're going to hurt me is if you leave."

"Come on, we just almost…."

"Well" he sighs. "I'm gonna need a nice, cold shower, but look- I get it. You had a momentary lapse in judgment, but you don't want to be with me…. yet."

"See- that's exactly what I'm talking about. You're holding onto hope that we're going to get back together, and I just can't promise that's going to happen."

"Don't worry about it Doc" he says as he kisses my head. "I'm gonna go take that shower."

"But, Wade-" I call out as he starts to walk away.

"Yeah?" he asks.

"You never answered the question I asked you before."

"What question?" he asks as he makes his way back over to me.

"Why did you cheat on me?"

**Please Review!**


	16. Chapter 16

"When'd you ask me that?" Wade asks as he sits next to me.

"Right after we broke up, when you came to my house to ask for a second chance."

"Right" he answers. "That wasn't exactly my finest moment."

"I can think of a worse one" a mutter.

"She meant nothing to me" he says as he places his hand on my arm.

"That isn't what I asked you" I reply. "I asked you why you did it."

"I never would have done it if I wasn't hammered" he says.

"You don't have more of a reason than that?" I ask.

"No" he shrugs.

"Okay then" I answer as I turn away from him. "Enjoy your shower."

"Come on Zoe, don't be like that" he sighs.

There's a moment of silence between us that's finally broken by him.

"I was scared" he says shakily.

"Scared of what?" I ask.

"Scared that I wasn't enough for you. Scared that I'd never be enough for you. I just thought that maybe if I could win that damn contest, and get my bar started I could take care of you the way you deserve. But I couldn't even do it without George Tucker. I've always been afraid of you running off with him. I can't help it. You spent a whole year drooling over him, while you barely even noticed me. You wanted him. You settled for me. And all I am is a bartender. It's like you said in the cabin. I don't even have a career. I mean, how long can a relationship between someone like you and someone like me last? When I lost the contest I was afraid I'd lose you too eventually, so I did a stupid thing and sabotaged it all."

"Wow" I reply. "That was… deep."

"Yeah" he shrugs. "I meant it."

"It's not true you know" I say softly. "You were enough for me Wade. I didn't settle. You were the one I wanted."

"Why?" he scoffs.

"Because" I answer. "I loved you."

"You did?" he asks teary eyed.

"I did" I nod.

"Do you still?" he asks hopefully.

"Feelings that strong don't go away overnight" I admit. "A part of me will always love you Wade. A part of me has loved you since I got drunk on box wine and made out with you in the front seat of your car."

"You ran away after that" he says softly as he caresses my cheek. "I was trying to play it cool, but I was so disappointed."

"Did you really think I was going to have sex with you after only knowing you for a few hours?"

"I was hoping" he admits honestly. "But that wasn't why I was disappointed. I wanted you to stay because well, I'm disappointed whenever you go. I like being around you, even when we're fighting and you're driving me crazy."

I smile at him and fight tears.

"This doesn't change the fact that I can't trust you."

"I know that" he replies. "But the way I see it- we love each other, and you're having my babies. We're meant to be Zoe. So I'm going to get my act together, I'm going to find a better job, and I'm going to live like a freakin' priest, unless you want to do anything with me of course. I'm going to earn your trust back, and I don't care how long it takes. I don't care if the kids are in college before we actually get back together. I'm going to do right by you Zoe Hart, and I'm going to do right by our kids."

"You really mean it" I say, as a statement, not a question because I know it's true.

"I do" he answers.

"So about that shower?" I ask. "Did you maybe want-"

"Hey!" Earl says flinging the front door open.

"Damn it Earl!" Wade shouts. "Zoe, what were you going to say?"

"Nothing" I answer coming to my senses. "I was just going to wish you a happy shower!"

"What?" he asks. "I don't think that's a sayin'"

"Sure it is" I reply. "Happy shower Wade."

"Happy shower!" Earl adds with a nod and a smile.

Wade rolls his eyes and walks away.

"What is going on in here?" my mother asks as she walks through the door. "Zoe?"

"Yeah?" I answer.

"You were about to have sex!" she shouts.

"Jeez mom, keep it down, you don't have to let everyone in Bluebell know! How the hell can you tell anyway?"

"Your lips are swollen, you're sweating, you're hairs all messed up, and you look all flustered."

I wipe a few droplets of sweat off my forehead and smooth my hair down.

"You didn't sleep with that miscreant did you?"

"No!" I reply. "Would you stop talking about it!"

"Yeah Candice" Earl chimes in. "You're being seriously uncool, if these kids want to… you know… that's their business."

"Yes, well you should obviously take important life advice from the drunken man with mismatched socks" she says to me sarcastically.

"I'd rather take it from him then you!" I snap. "Because people actually like this drunken man with mismatched socks… well, I do anyway. And do you want to know why? Because he's nice!"

"And I'm not?" she scoffs.

"No!" I snap. "You're not! All you've done since you've gotten here is make jabs at everyone, I know you think you're helping but you aren't!"

"I'm stopping you from making a huge mistake!"

"What if it isn't though" I shrug. "What if getting back together with Wade isn't a huge mistake."

She gapes at me as if she can't believe what I just said, and to be honest _I _can't believe what I just said.

Damn it I'm confused.

"I have to go" I say as I storm out the front door.

"Zoe, where are you going?" my mother calls out.

"I'm going for a walk" I answer as I slam the door. I need to clear my head. I need to figure out what the hell I'm going to do.

**Please Review!**


	17. Chapter 17

What am I going to do? I love Wade, I really do, but I don't know if I can get past this. I don't know if I can ever trust him again. Do I owe it to my babies to try? Do I owe it to myself to try?

"Hey" Tansy says as she runs up to me.

"Oh, hey" I respond.

"I just wanted to apologize for all the craziness at breakfast" she continues as she begins to walk with me.

"It wasn't your fault; in fact I think you were the only one there who didn't add to it."

"Yeah" she chuckles "But George sure didn't help things."

"No he didn't" I agree.

"He's just worried about you" she explains.

"I know" I nod. "I just wish everyone would give me a little space to figure out what I'm doing here."

"So you're pregnant. That's a pretty big deal" she says awkwardly.

"It is" I agree.

There's an awkward silence between us for a moment that I finally break.

"So you've sort of been through this before. I mean, not being pregnant, but Wade cheating on you."

"Yeah" she nods. "I have."

"Do you have friendly advice?"

"For me, taking Wade back was a mistake" she answers honestly. "But the biggest problem in our relationship was that I was in love with someone who didn't love me back. I don't see that as a problem with the two of you."

"I know he loves me" I confirm. "I just don't know if I can trust him again."

"My advice?" Tansy replies. "Give yourself some time. Don't rush into anything with Wade if you still don't trust him. Let him prove himself to you."

"So you think I should let him sweat it out?" I ask.

"Wouldn't hurt" she answers. "After all, I mean he does deserve it."

When Tansy says this I realize something. A few weeks ago I would have agreed with her, I would have made Wade suffer just for the sake of it. But now? I don't want to punish him. I don't want to make him pay. I don't want him to suffer, I want him to be happy. And I want me to be happy too. But Tansy is right in a way. If I don't trust Wade I can't jump back into a relationship with him just yet. He said he's willing to wait. And I might have to test that.

"Maybe take it slow" she suggests. "Start out with a movie date or something?"

"Thanks Tansy" I say with a smile.

"No problem" she shrugs. "Glad I could help."

"Should we like hug now or something?" I ask awkwardly.

"I don't think that's necessary, but if you need to talk again I'm around."

"Thank you" I smile. "I just might take you up on that."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Hey" Wade says urgently as he runs up to me and wraps me in a hug. "Thank God, are you okay?"

"I'm fine" I smile as I pull back. "Why do you ask?"

"I came out of the bathroom and no one was here."

"Really?" I ask. "Earl and my mother took off?"

"I guess" he shrugs. "Where were you?"

"I just went for a walk" I say reassuringly.

"Oh" he sighs. "And you feel all right."

"I feel fine" I chuckle. "Um, I talked to Tansy though."

"You did?" he asks nervously.

I nod. "She gave me some advice."

"And what was that?"

"I can't tell you that" I say teasingly. "That would be breaking girl code."

"Girl code?" Wade asks confused.

"Yes" I answer. "You never tell a guy what another girl has said about him."

"I think you just made that up" he says suspiciously.

"I did not!" I insist.

He laughs at me for a moment and then tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. "So, have you thought anymore about what we talked about?"

"I have" I confirm.

"And..?" he asks.

"And I really think I should move out" I reply.

"Oh" he replies hurt. "Um, if that's what you think is best."

"Because-" I add. "I want to give us another try, but I want to take things slow."

"Slow?" he asks.

"Yes" I confirm. "Slow, and I really don't see that happening with me living here since we keep almost, you know-"

"Okay" he says with a big, goofy grin on his face. "I can do slow."

"Good" I smile back.

"I'm going to need some help moving my stuff back over to my place" I say.

"Some help?" he scoffs. "No, you ain't gonna be moving anything. I'll do it."

"Wade, I'll be fine-"

"No!" he interrupts. "I have to run over to the Rammer Jammer and pick up my paycheck. Why don't you go over to your place and take a nap. I can have you all moved back in by tonight."

"Okay" I reply. I am pretty tired a nap might be nice.

"See ya" I say as I walk away, but he gently grabs my wrist.

"I know we're taking things slow, but I really want to kiss you right now."

"Well" I say as I teasingly act like I'm weighing the decision. "If you _really_ want to."

He kisses me, and it's the softest, sweetest kiss we've ever shared. When he's done he stares into my eyes and strokes my cheek. "Damn it, I've missed you" he whispers.

"I've missed you too" I reply as I fight the urge to throw him on his bed. "I should probably go now" I say as I back away and clear my throat.

"Right" he responds. "Have a nice nap."

"Thank you" I say with a smile.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

I open the door to my bedroom and walk in. Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! No! No! No! This can't be happening.

"Ahhhh!" I scream, louder than I ever have in my entire life as I run from my house. "But- but, no! This can't be happening."

"What is it?" Wade yells as he runs to me. I'm not sure how it was humanly possible for him to get here so quickly, but I'm just thankful that I'm not alone to face this horrible ordeal.

"Baby" he says as he grabs my face. "What is it, what's wrong?"

"It- they- no!" I stutter unable to form a full sentence.

"It isn't what it looks like" my mother yells running towards me with my sheet wrapped around her.

"Yeah" Earl adds yelling out my bedroom window. "We was just doin' the horizontal hokey pokey."

"Oh dear Lord" Wade gasps as he holds me close. "That's what's wrong, you saw that?"

"Uh-huh" I mutter.

"You poor thing" he says as he strokes my hair.

"Well this has to be a low point for me" my mother mutters.

"I thought it was fun" Earl shrugs. "By the way, my house is all clear now, took less time than they expected, I can leave tonight."

"Sounds good Earl" Wade says rolling his eyes.

"But I'll be visiting soon to see those babies" he adds pointing at me.

"For the love of God Earl!" Wade shouts. "Would you put your damn pants on?"

"I'm leaving too" my mother adds. "You were right Zoe, I shouldn't meddle. This boy has some…flaws, but he obviously cares about you. I'm hardly in a position to hand out romantic advice."

"Thank you" Wade replies.

"Don't talk to me" she snaps back.

"I'm sorry mom" I say. "I was a little harsh with you."

"Well, I needed it" she replies. "I really am so proud of you darling. And I'm so happy about the pregnancy.

"Thanks" I smile. "Me too."

She reaches to hug me but I jerk back.

"You're still wearing my sheet" I explain disgusted.

"Right" she nods. "I'll go get dressed then."

"Thank you" I smile.

"Well that was surprising" Wade says as he raises his eyebrows.

"Yeah" I reply. "Our parents had sex."

"Let's try not to think about that too much" he says with a grimace on his face.

"At least they're leaving now" I shrug.

"Yes" he replies smiling triumphantly. "They're gone, and you're giving me a second chance. I'd say today was a success."

**Please Review!**


	18. Chapter 18

It's been a little over two months since I've decided to give Wade a chance, and for the most part things have settled down. Things are going well the office, and the people of Bluebell have been surprisingly supportive about the pregnancy. I have already received ten baby blankets, four little hats, and about fifteen onesies from the older women of the town who all seem to be addicted to knitting, sewing, and crocheting; Tansy and Annabelle have already started planning my Dolly Parton themed shower that will take place at the Rammer Jammer in five months; Lavon has offered to make the babies' birthday a town-wide holiday; and Lemon Breeland even sent me flowers as a congratulations present. I wish she would have sent some type of food as I am all kinds of starving lately, but hey I'll tale what I can get- she is no longer plotting to make me leave town which is a relief because quite frankly, that woman scares the crap out of me.

My mother and I have gotten into the habit of talking on the phone once a week, which is much more often than we ever talked before the pregnancy. She has made it clear that she still doesn't like Wade, I don't think she ever will, but she keeps most of her critical comments to herself- or at least mutters them under her breath so I can pretend that I don't hear her. I guess that Wade and my mother will fit the old stereotype of the son-in-law and mother-in-law that hate each other, but there I go again assuming that Wade and I are getting married! I need to remember to take this slow!

Earl also visits me every now and again to see if I've given birth yet. I keep reminding him of my due date, but Wade says we're lucky that he even remembers that I'm pregnant.

Wade and I were able to get a much more detailed ultrasound image a few weeks ago. The doctor even confirmed that Wade and I were right- we're having a girl and a boy. It was an amazing moment for both of us to see what the babies actually look like. I even caught Wade tearing up, it was pretty amazing. Wade asked for ten copies of the image. I'm not sure what he has done with most of them, but I know that one is in his wallet, one is on his night side table, and one is hanging up at the Rammer Jammer. I told him that no one wants to see the inside of my uterus while they're eating, but he's just so proud of the babies. Admittedly, it is pretty cute. He shows the picture to everyone that comes in, and even explains which baby is which.

Wade and I are doing well, but I have made sure to take things slow. Very slow. Wade has been patient, and hasn't tried to rush things, but I know that if I asked to move in with him again he'd say yes in a second. Hell, I'm even pretty sure that if I got down on one knee and proposed he'd say yes which is pretty ironic since he is still infamous among most people in town for being a Lothario. Wade Kinsella- guitar playing, bar tending, womanizer who never took anything or anyone seriously is now a committed father to his unborn children hell-bent on proving to me that he's worthy of my love. It is certainly ironic, but the most ironic part of all is that Wade doesn't need to convince me that he's worthy of my love. I'm already desperately, head over heels in love with him, and I always will be.

I don't know why, but for some reason I am _so_ nervous about our date tonight. We're just going to see a movie, but it's a Drive-In movie, and as committed as I am to taking things slow with him I don't know if even I can resist the temptations that lie within that situation. Perhaps I should suggest something else? Dancing? No, that won't be any fun with my big, fat, swollen ankles, and I'm not sure if Wade can dance anyway. Wade would probably be happy to hang out, order a pizza, and play some video games, but come to think of it being alone on Wade's couch might be a bit tempting too…

My thoughts are interrupted by a knock on my door. I open it to find a surprised Wade gaping at me.

"What?" I ask confused.

"Nothing, it's just- I was right."

"Right about what?" I ask as I smile nervously.

"You look really cute with a baby bump."

I look down at myself. I've only just started to show, and I'm nowhere near as big as I thought I would be. I've seen pictures of my mother when she was pregnant with me- she was ginormous. I guess I get it from my dad's side of the family?

"Thank you" I say as I try to hold back a smirk.

"So you good with the movie I picked?" he asks referring to his earlier text.

"Actually, I'm kind of tired would you mind just like hanging out at your place or something?"

"Of course not" he answers quickly. "We can do this another night if you need to rest, are you sure you're all right."

"I'm fine" I say reassuringly.

"Well" he sighs "I guess we could watch TV or something there's got to me something on."

"Sounds good" I wink as I grab my jacket and make my way out the door with his arm around me.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

We're about half way through the movie and things have gone pretty well so far. We've both eaten a few slices of pizza. To be honest, I'm still a little hungry, but I refuse to eat more than my date. I remind myself that Lavon probably still has some chicken tetrazzini left over in the fridge from last night, and that I should stop over there. It will be good to catch up with Lavon, he's almost as excited about the babies as Wade and I are.

My thoughts are interrupted when Wade puts his arm around me. It's a simple, sweet gesture but he soon takes things further when he brushes a strand of hair out of my face with his other hand.

"You look mighty fine tonight, Doc" he says temptingly.

"Thank you" I reply coldly, trying to maintain my composure.

"Why are you so tense?" he asks feigning ignorance.

"Because you're trying to seduce me" I reply with an arch of my eyebrow.

"What me? Never."

"I want to take things slow" I remind him.

"Yeah, and for the past two months I've been taking you on dates, and dropping you off at the door at the end like a gentleman with nothing but a kiss. To me that's taking it slow."

"Well, I'm just nervous about- Oh!" I say, interrupting myself as I feel an odd sensation. My hand goes over my belly protectively and I lean forward slightly.

"What is it?" Wade asks urgently. "What's wrong, are you okay?"

"I'm fine" I reply with a smile. "It's the babies- I think they're kicking, or one of them is, I'm not really sure."

"Really?" he gasps. "You're sure?"

"Pretty sure" I reply with a chuckle. "Here, feel" I add as I take his hand in mine and place it over my belly.

"Oh my God" he whispers in awe. "Those really are our babies in there."

"Yeah, and I think they both might have futures as soccer players" I tease.

"I love you" Wade says happily as he smiles widely and plants a soft kiss on my lips.

"I love you too" I say as I stare into his eyes and run my hand through his hair.

I pull back suddenly and grab another slice of pizza.

"What are you doing?" he asks confused as he clears his throat.

"I'm hungry" I admit. "I was going to eat more later at Lavon's, but now I don't think that's going to happen."

"And why's that?"

"Because" I answer with a teasing smile. "I'm staying here tonight."

**Please Review!**


	19. Chapter 19

"Damn" Wade says as he strokes my hair. "I forgot just how much I missed doing that with you."

I smile up at him and he glances down at me appreciatively. "You okay?" he asks concerned.

"I'm better than okay" I giggle.

"And how about the little ones?" he asks as he places his hand over my stomach.

"They're fine too daddy" I tease. "We're all fine."

"You're perfect" he whispers into my hair as he kisses my cheek.

"Okay" I respond with an eye roll.

"What?" he responds glancing at me. "You don't think so?"

"Nobody's perfect" I argue.

"Well you're the closest thing to it. I still can't believe you took me back, I still can't believe you wanted me in the first place."

"Well I did" I say reassuringly as I turn to gaze at him. "And I still do, I'll always want you Wade Kinsella."

"Really?" he asks.

"Of course" I smile.

"Then marry me."

"What?" I gasp. "Wade, I want to-"

"I know, I know, you want to take things slow. We can have a long engagement."

"Wade, getting engaged after dating again for two months is _not _taking things slow" I scoff as I sit up in bed.

"Look, I want to show you something- it might change your mind."

"Okay" I reply curiously. "What is it?"

He pulls out a letter from his night side table and hands it to me.

"It's a letter" I say as I look it.

"Good job" he replies sarcastically with a smile. "Read it."

"You got a job at an insurance company?"

"Yep, the whole 9-5 thing, decent pay, benefits…"

"Wade-" I interrupt. "Why did you do this?"

"Um, cause I got a girl I want to marry and two kids on the way" he answers as he returns his hand to my stomach.

"But, this isn't what you want-"

"What I want is you. You and the babies are all that matter to me."

"But Wade, this is going to make you miserable, you aren't going to like this job."

"Probably not" he agrees. "But I'm going to love coming home to my wife and kids."

"Hey" I say as I turn to gaze at him. "This isn't what I want Wade. I want you to have your dream, to own your own bar."

"Well that ain't gonna happen" he shrugs. "I got no money Zoe, not enough to start a bar and not enough to support two kids. Something's got to give."

"Money isn't an issue for us" I say gazing into his eyes. "Wade, I have plenty of money. I could even give you a short-term loan if you want to-"

"No" he scoffs. "I'm not taking your money to pursue some childish dream."

"It isn't childish" I argue. "Wade, it's fine to dream. It's fine to find a career that you're actually satisfied with- it's good actually. I don't want you to settle. I want what's best for you."

"Then marry me" he says wide-eyed. "That's what I want Zoe, that's what's best for me."

"I don't know" I sigh. "You're kind of springing this on me all at once."

"I know, I'm sorry. It's just- Wait!" he shouts as he jumps out of bed.

"What?" I gasp. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine" he says as he runs back over and kneels in front of the bed. "I just realized I'm an idiot."

"You bought a ring?" I gasp. I'm impressed; it's a really nice ring. A _really_ nice ring. But how could Wade have afforded this?

"How much was that?"

"Damn it Zoe, don't worry about that" he sighs.

"Wade-"

"It was my mama's" he interrupts. "It was my mama's engagement ring. She left it to me to give to the girl I'd marry."

That's so sweet, oh my God. Wade hardly ever talks about his mother, but when he does I can tell how important she was to him. And now he's giving me _her_ ring. But wait a minute- an unpleasant thought enters my mind.

"So this was Tansy's ring first?" I ask.

"No" he replies. "I never gave this ring to Tansy."

"Why not?"

"I don't know" he shrugs. "It didn't feel right."

"But it feels right with me?"

"Yeah" he smiles.

I stare at him for a long time. I love this man. I want to spend the rest of my life with him, I do, but this is too soon. I don't want to get married just because I'm knocked up, and I don't want to get married with all these insecurities still in my head about him cheating on me again.

"I'm just scared" I say in a hushed whisper.

"Scared of what baby?" he asks concerned as he puts his hand on my arm.

"Wade, I really want this to work between us."

"Are you scared I'm gonna cheat?" he asks looking down ashamed.

"Yeah" I admit. "Among other things."

"What other things?"

"We just started this up again Wade, what if us getting married throws the whole dynamic off and ruins us."

"It won't" he says reassuringly as he caresses my cheek. "I'm never going to cheat on you Zoe, I'm never going to leave you."

I nod and then look away for a moment.

"We can go to counseling" he suggests with a shrug. "If you think that will make you feel better."

"Really?" I gasp. "You'd be willing to do that?"

"If it gets you to marry me, yeah, I'd do anything."

"Okay" I sigh. "I'll make a deal with you. I will say yes to marrying you and wear that gorgeous ring on my finger under three conditions."

1.) We go to counseling, 2.) you say no to that crappy insurance job, and 3.) you kiss me right now."

"Okay" he answers excitedly as a huge grin wipes across his face. He caresses my cheek and kisses me passionately. He pulls back for a moment and stares into my eyes.

"Thank you" he says. "Thank you for making me happier than I've ever been in my life."

I smile back at him and hold out my ring finger.

"Right" he gasps as he gets it out of the box and slides it on. "Perfect fit" he smiles.

"Definitely" I smile back.

**Please Review!**


	20. Chapter 20

I open my eyes and startle momentarily when I realize I'm not in my room. Where am I? Oh yeah, that's right. I'm at Wade's.

"Good morning gorgeous" he murmurs as he kisses the side of my head.

"Good morning" I smile back.

"Good morning little ones" he says as he rubs my belly.

I turn around to gaze at him. "Hi" I say trying to sound seductive.

"Well hi to you too Mrs. Kinsella" he replies playfully.

"We aren't married yet" I remind him. "And even if we were, it would be Dr. Kinsella."

"Speaking of getting married, when were you thinking would be a good time to do that?"

"I want a long engagement" I insist as I turn back around and settle into his chest.

"How long? Cause for me 'long' would be like a month."

"A month!" I gasp. "No, I was thinking more like a year- at least."

"But the babies will have been born by then!" he pouts.

"Wade, I know this is Alabama and everything, but it's also the 21st century and I refuse to be rushed into a shotgun wedding."

"I just want the four of us to be a family" he explains as he strokes my belly.

"And we will be" I smile. "Just not in a month."

"We'll see" he says smugly.

"What does that mean?" I ask challengingly.

"Nothing- it's just a few months ago you swore you never wanted anything to do with me."

"Well you cheated on me" I remind him.

"I know" he says as he holds me closer. "It was the stupidest mistake I ever made in my life, and I'll never forget how lucky I am that you forgave me."

"I did, but that doesn't mean I'm marrying you before the babies come."

"Well you also swore up and down during the first half of our date last night that you weren't going to sleep with me, and yet here you are in my bed, with a ring on your finger nonetheless."

"You're a charmer" I agree hesitantly. "But that _doesn't_ mean I'm budging on this one."

"Okay" he says throwing his hands up in defeat, but the smirk on his face tells me he still thinks he's going to win.

"I'm serious" I say, trying to smirk back at him, but I fail miserably.

"I love it when you smile" he says dreamily. "You haven't been doing enough of that lately, it's my fault, I'm sorry."

"You make me smile" I argue. "And our babies make me smile" I add placing my hand over his, which is sprawled across my belly protectively.

"You know, we still haven't picked out middle names for the little ones" he points out.

"Well I'm only barely into my second trimester, we aren't too far behind."

"I kind of had an idea for Susie's middle name" he shrugs.

"Okay" a say warily. "What is it?"

"Jacqueline" he answers softly. "That was my mama's name."

"It's beautiful" I answer. "Perfect. Susanna Jacqueline Kinsella."

"I think she likes it too" I giggle. "Or at least one of them does, someone in there's kicking up a storm."

"I can feel it" he whispers. "Maybe it's little Willy, maybe he wants a middle name too."

"I did kind of think of something" I admit sheepishly.

"Well let's hear it."

"Lavon- I don't know he's just been so supportive, and he's been a really great friend to both of us…"

"It's perfect. I love it, and so will their Uncle Lavon."

"You hungry?" he asks changing the subject.

"Lately, I'm always hungry" I groan. "I feel like I could eat an entire carton of eggs, ooh and bacon, and waffles, and those little hash browns they have at the Rammer Jammer…"

"You are adorable" he laughs as he wiggles my nose with his index finger. "Get dressed, I'll buy you breakfast before my shift starts.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Wade and I walk hand in hand over to the Rammer Jammer. At this point, everyone in town knows that we are back together, for the most part the stares and whispers have stopped. However, wherever I go I am met with another distraction.

"Zoe!" Wanda yells excitedly as she runs towards me.

"Hey Wanda" I reply warmly, knowing that her hand will be over my belly in a matter of seconds.

"How are the babies?"

"Great" I smile. "How's married life treating you?"

"Fantastic, better than fantastic! Being married is like the best thing ever."

"You should listen to her" Wade whispers in my ear.

"Stop" I scold.

"What is he talking about?" Wanda asks suspiciously. She looks me over and her eyes stop when she gets to my hand. She grabs it and gapes at the ring. Oh crap, I forgot I was still wearing the ring. Well, I guess I've given the people of Bluebell something to buzz about for the day.

"You two are getting _married_? She shrieks.

"Yes" Wade answers proudly as he puts his arm around me.

"After a long engagement" I clarify. "It'll be a _long_ engagement."

"I'm so happy for you" Wanda says as she pulls me into an unexpected hug. "I felt so bad after what happened at my wedding-"

"Um, we don't have to talk about that" I interrupt.

"Congratulations" she smiles. "To both of you" she adds looking to Wade.

"Thank you Wanda" Wade smiles back as we resume our journey to the Rammer Jammer.

"See" he whispers. "Wanda thinks we should get married soon."

"She did not say that!" I snap.

"She said being married is the best thing ever, aren't the implications obvious."

"The only thing that is obvious is-"

"Wait" he interrupts as he stops suddenly.

"What?" I ask looking around.

"This house. It's for sale."

"That's very perceptive of you" I reply sarcastically.

"I've always loved this house, I painted it one summer in high school for the cranky old lady who lived here."

"That's a heart-warming story" I tease.

"This house would be perfect."

"Perfect for what?" I ask wearily.

"Us" he answers with a wide grin.

**Please Review!**


	21. Chapter 21

"Wade!" I gasp. "Do you ever listen!? Slow. I want to take this slow."

He grins at me widely. Damn it, I'm serious! Why isn't he taking me seriously.

"Look Doc" he shrugs. "You and I don't have to move in here together right away, but you got two babies coming, you know there isn't enough room at your place…."

"Right" I say looking down as I place my hand over my belly. "It is a beautiful house" I smile.

"It's perfect. Look, there's even tulips in the yard, and a white picket fence!"

"Pink tulips" I add. Damn it! No, Wade is not going to charm me into this. I know what he's planning. "Wade, it's too soon!"

"The babies need a place to live Doc" he persists. "I know you like this house…"

"I do, but I don't want to rush things with you."

"Who's rushing things?"

"I know what you're doing. You're going to get me to buy this place, and then you're going to start sleeping over here, the next thing you know…"

"Okay, okay how about I make a deal with you. You buy this house, which I fully intend to help you pay for by the way, and move into it. We'll get it all set up for the babies before they come, but I won't move in here until we get married. We'll do it old fashioned style. It will be at your pace."

"You are only agreeing to this because you're so sure I'm going to break down and marry you before the babies come."

"Come on Doc, you know I'm right. You gotta find some place to live."

"Fine!" I finally break down. "I'll look at the house, but I'm not going to let you pay, I'm a strong and independent working woman. I can bring home the bacon and fry it up in a pan."

"These are my babies too" he reminds me. "I want to take care of them. I want to take care of you."

My heart melts at his words. Is this way it's always going to be? Is Wade always going to charm me into doing exactly what he wants? Okay, maybe he's making sense about buying this house, but I am still not budging on this wedding thing.

"Where ya going?" he asks with a chuckle as I walk away.

"I'm going to look at the house" I answer.

"Doc, you can't just walk in- that's trespassing" he says nervously. "It ain't yours just yet."

"I'm not just going to barge in!" I scoff. "I'm going to ring the bell."

I press the doorbell and wait a moment, and a familiar looking old woman makes her way to the door. I think I've had her as a patient before… Definitely. Psoriasis, she had psoriasis.

"Oh crap" Wade mutters.

"What?" I whisper.

"That's the cranky lady…"

I'm sure Wade's exaggerating; I don't remember her being that bad.

"What the hell do you want?" she barks as she flings the front door open.

"Umm, I saw that this house is for sale" I reply nervously. "I was hoping that I could maybe look around…"

"Do what you want" she sighs. "But if you steal anything I'm callin' the sheriff."

"She's calling the sheriff" I whisper to Wade teasingly as a giggle escapes.

"Just be careful" he says as he walks in behind me. "If I remember correctly this woman has about a thousand cats and they're all mean as sin."

"I think I can handle a cat" I say, rolling my eyes.

"I love this staircase" I say dreamily.

"It's beautiful" he agrees. "And very well-painted" he adds with a smile.

"It's a good size" I nod. "Enough room, but not too big."

"If I remember right, there's three bedrooms. That should be perfect."

"Unless we have more" I say without thinking. Crap! I'm getting way ahead of myself again.

I look at Wade and he's wearing a big, stupid grin. "You want more kids, Doc?"

"What? I don't know. Let's look at the kitchen" I say quickly, trying to cover for myself.

"This is a cute little kitchen" I nod. "I like the yellow wallpaper."

"There's a dining room over here" he says motioning to the other side of the room.

"We could do Thanksgiving here, you know once we do get married."

"That would be nice" I smile.

"Well, I don't know how nice it will be with our families, but I can cook a decent enough turkey."

"Really?" I gasp. "You know how to cook a turkey."

"Oh yeah" he shrugs. "I cook for Earl every year."

"That's really sweet" I say softly.

"Well this year I'll be cooking for you too, and the little ones."

"The little ones won't be able to eat turkey by next thanksgiving."

"Well, then maybe a few thanksgivings from now" he laughs. "The point is the four of us will be together."

Yeah, that sounds nice. God that sounds nice. He slowly walks up to me and softly places his lips on mine. We kiss softly for a minute, but it quickly becomes more urgent.

"God, I love you" he groans as he pulls away.

"We should go to the Rammer Jammer, you don't want to be late for work" I say with a teasing smile.

"You don't want to see more?" he asks with a disappointment in his voice.

"No" I answer. "I don't need to. I know this is what I want."

**Please Review!**


	22. Chapter 22

The past month has been pretty eventful. I bought the house and as of three days ago it's officially mine! I'm still sleeping at Lavon's, but Wade and I have started the process of moving my stuff in. Wade is off the charts excited about getting the nursery set up. He agonized over the decision between choo-choo train, and air balloon wall paper for weeks as if it would have a major effect on the babies' future. In the end, I broke the tie for him and chose the air balloons.

Annabelle, Tansy, Wanda and I have started a trend of eating lunch together every day. Lemon Breeland even joins us occasionally, and she's nice-to _me_. I've never really had girlfriends before, and now I'm in my own little Bluebell clique. The truth is I've never had so much support in my life from everyone around me. Through everything that's happened these past few months- the flu epidemic, Wade's cheating, the pregnancy- I've really gained the trust and support from the people of Bluebell. I finally feel at home.

I'm halfway through my second trimester, and thankfully my morning sickness is no longer an issue. I'm still only showing a little bit, and Wade feels the need to point out how cute the baby bump looks every time he sees me…. It's pretty adorable. I have tried to keep things moving slowly with Wade, but admittedly he's wearing me down.

We found a couples therapist in Mobile, and today is our first appointment. I'm pretty nervous; I haven't been to a shrink's office since I was ten years old, and it wasn't a pleasant experience. But the truth is that I'm most nervous about the effect this will have on my relationship with Wade. I'm hoping it will strengthen us, and that we'll be able to build trust for one another again, but what if it has the opposite effect? What if she tells us we shouldn't be together or something… My thoughts are interrupted when I feel Wade hug me from behind.

"Hey Doc" he whispers into my ear as he places his hand over my belly. "You look fantastic."

"Thank you" I smile as I put my hand over his.

"How are the little one's this morning?"

"They're good" I reply as I turn around to look at him. "But their mom is kind of nervous."

"Really?" Wade gasps as he kneels so his mouth is against my belly. "Now why is your mama nervous?"

"Because" I sigh. "Today is our appointment with Doctor Richter."

"If you don't want to do this we don't have to. I don't want to listen to what some quack has to say about us anyway. I'm only doing this because I thought it was what you wanted."

"It is" I reply as I stare into the distance. "What are you doing?" I giggle as I feel his lips against my belly.

"Just saying good morning to the little ones" he smiles. "And there mama" he adds looking up at me.

I smile down at him and run my fingers through his hair. Something about looking into his eyes just makes me feel so…safe.

"Well" I sigh. "Get on up off the floor because if you want to get me down the aisle before the twins are in kindergarten we need to make this whole counseling thing work.

"Yes ma'am" he says as he quickly gets up and wraps his arm around my shoulder.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Hello Zoe, I'm Dr. Richter" a blonde haired woman who looks to be in her mid-forties says as she shakes my hand.

"Hello Dr. Richter, um… this is my fiancée Wade Kinsella" I mutter nervously as I motion towards him.

"Hey" he says casually as he grabs her hand.

"Nice to meet you Wade" she responds warmly. "Why don't the two of you take a seat."

Wade puts his hand on my shoulder and guides me to the couch, as soon as we're seated he grabs my hand and holds it tightly. I think he's as nervous as I am.

"So" she sighs as she sits in a chair and takes a sip of water. "What are your reasons for coming in to see me?"

"Well" I smile. "I'm pregnant- with twins, and we're engaged, but I guess I'm just having a little trouble fully committing. I'm still having some trust issues."

"And why do you think that is?" she asks taking notes.

"I did something stupid before we found out about the babies" Wade admits, hanging his head.

"And by 'something stupid' you mean?"

"I cheated on her."

"Oh, I could see how that would create some issues" she nods. "Zoe, you feel like you've forgiven Wade?"

"Yeah" I answer honestly. "I have, and I love him, I really do. I guess I'm just scared."

"Scared that he'll cheat again?" she asks tilting her head.

"I guess, yeah. But to be honest I'm more concerned about why Wade cheated."

"What does that mean?" he asks holding my hand tighter. "Baby, we talked about this, I told you what I was thinking when I-"

"You said _sabotage_" I interrupt shakily. "You said you sabotaged us, you wanted it to end, you wanted to leave me."

"No, no, no, baby, no that's the last thing I ever wanted" he replies in a begging tone as he turns to look at me.

"You had to know what would happen. You had to know that we would end .You might as well have just left. You wanted to leave- what if you decide to leave again" I say as tears fill my eyes. I'm actually surprised by myself as I'm saying all this. I'm surprised that I'm actually admitting these insecurities to myself, and I'm shocked that I'm saying them out loud.

"A lot of feelings can arise when a partner cheats" the therapist says thoughtfully. "Betrayal, anger, embarrassment, despair, but it seems to me that the biggest issue for you was the sense of abandonment."

"I guess" I shrug as I try to pull myself together and keep myself from crying.

"Where you abandoned as a child?" she asks gazing at me. Why the hell is she asking me this? What does this have to do with anything? I mean, my God I've barely even talked about this with the people I know well, and I've only met this woman five minutes ago.

"Yes" I admit quickly as I clear my throat and look down at the floor.

"Hey, it's okay Doc" Wade says as he gently tilts my chin so I'm looking at him. "It's okay, I'm right here. Don't shut down."

I take a deep breath as I begin to explain the situation. "I was ten, and him and my mom split. He said that it had nothing to do with me, and that he'd always love me, but it was never the same. Eventually, he just stopped seeing me all together. He just stopped loving me. It turns out that it was because he found out that my mother lied about my paternity, he was never really my father."

"But at the time you didn't know that. You were just a little girl and you had no idea why your father left" she adds sympathetically.

"I don't really see what this has to do with anything" I say as I fight tears.

"I think this has a lot to do with your fears about Wade, you felt like he abandoned you when he cheated and you're terrified that if you trust him again he'll leave, just like your father."

Damn it this woman is good. Too good. How'd she figure all this out so quickly? I hate talking about this stuff. I feel exposed, naked. And after talking about all that stuff with my dad, I really just want to cry.

"Excuse me" I say as I stand to my feet. "I have to use the restroom." I quickly make my way out the door, but after only a second of being in the hall I see that Wade has followed me.

"I'm sorry" Wade says softly as he cups my face in his hands. "God I'm sorry.I knew I hurt ya, I guess I just didn't realize how bad."

"It's fine" I mutter as I start to walk away from him.

"Hey," he says urgently as he gently grabs my wrist. "It's not that I wanted to leave you Zoe. I was terrified that you were gonna leave me, and I just freaked out. I'd never want to leave you. Anyone who could ever leave you is a damn fool. That daddy of yours is a damn fool, and I ain't leaving you or the babies. Ever. I promise."

"Can we just get out of here?" I beg as I begin to break down.

"Of course we can sweetheart" he says as he wraps me in a hug and starts to stroke my hair. "Of course we can, why don't I take you back to my place? I found some of those black and white cookies you like at the grocery store the other day" he says softly. I wanted to surprise you, I was going to wait until our date Friday, but if it'll cheer you up-"

"That sounds perfect" I interrupt as I retrieve a Kleenex from my jacket pocket and begin to pat my eyes. "Let's go."

**Please Review!**


	23. Chapter 23

"Thanks for this" I say as I dip the last piece of my cookie in my glass of milk.

"Of course" he replies as he stands to his feet. "I have more, are you still hungry?"

"Yes" I answer quickly. "I mean, that sounds nice" I add in a less demanding tone.

He puts two on my plate and then kisses the top of my head. "I was hoping we could talk about what happened earlier" he admits uncomfortably as he sits across from me.

"I really don't like talking about the stuff with my dad" I snap back quickly.

"Okay, I just wanted to let you know that I know how you felt."

"What?" I ask softly.

"Even though the circumstances were a lot different than yours I know what it's like to lose a parent. I also know what it's like to have a sucky dad."

"At least yours cares about you" I mutter as I take another bite. "I've had two dads and neither of them was very interested in knowing me."

"Well, I don't know if that's true" he says softly as he places his hand on mine. "Dr. Harvey certainly went to great lengths to get you on over here to Bluebell."

I nod and place my hand on my belly. "Do you think he'd be proud of me?" I ask shakily.

"Of course" he responds with a crooked grin. "How could he not be? You're pretty amazing."

I look down and blush for a moment before changing the subject."Um- the counselor. I don't know if I want to go back there, but thanks for trying" I shrug.

"Of course Doc, I'd do anything for you."

"I know you would" I answer appreciatively.

"But- um, listen" he says nervously as he shifts in his seat uncomfortably "I think that maybe we should go back."

"Why?"

"Because I think there's a lot we still need to deal with, and I really want to marry you Zoe Hart."

"I-I don't know" I shrug. "I'll think about it."

"Well if it makes you uncomfortable I can go by myself for a while."

"Really, you'd do that?" I ask gaping at him.

"Well, yeah. Obviously I have some issues too- doin' what I did. I hurt you and I don't ever want to do that again. And I know you're scared of moving too fast because you're afraid of losing me, but I'm afraid of that too. I've lost you once, and it almost killed me. I don't want to screw up again, I don't want to lose you again. I want to spend the rest of my life making you happy."

"You're really committed to this whole thing, huh?" I ask as I look down at my swollen belly.

"You and the kids? Yeah. I'm all in. I've never been this happy."

I find his words so comforting. He loves me, he wants to stay, he's even willing to go to counseling _by himself_.

"I love you" I say softly.

"I love you to Doc" he says as he walks over to me and scoops me up in his arms. "What can I do to show that to you?"

"Just stay" I answer as I curl my arms around his neck.

"Oh Doc" he whispers in my ear as he lies me on the bed. "I'll never leave you. I _could_ never leave you."

"You tired?" he asks as he caresses my face. This has been my nap time lately on my days off, and the cookies and milk have heightened my exhaustion. I nod sleepily while he covers me with a blanket. "Get some sleep Doc" he says as he kisses my face. "We'll talk more when you wake up."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As I wake, I sit up in Wade's bed and look around. My eyes immediately fall on the disturbing scene I see out the window. It's fire. There's a fire outside. "What the hell?" I gasp as I run outside. "Wade are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine" he answers nonchalantly.

"What are you doing?" I ask as I try not to cough.

"This my dear, is a grand romantic gesture!" he announces proudly.

"Arson?" I answer sarcastically.

"No funny girl, I'm burning my guitar."

"Why are you doing that?" I shriek.

"Because this is symbolic. The singing, and the partying, and the women- I'm done with that life now. I'm better than that life now, and it's all because of you. I'm showing you that I'm never going back to that. I'm showing you that you have nothing to be afraid of."

"You could have sold it" I laugh.

"That seemed like less grand of a gesture" he answers as he begins to put the flames out.

"You didn't have to do this" I say smiling at him.

"Yes I did" he argues. "Because it put a smile back on your face, a real Zoe Hart smile, I don't think there's anything prettier."

"I'm not really sure what to say about all of this" I giggle.

"You don't have to say anything. Just believe me. Believe I love you. Believe I'm not going to leave you."

I nod at him and gaze into his eyes, and in this moment something changes. That ache I've had in the pit of my stomach lately is replaced by something else. I no longer _want _to believe what he's saying; I do believe what he's saying. I don't feel quite as secure as I did before he cheated, but I think I'm headed in that direction. I think that one day I may even be able to forget about this whole ordeal altogether.

"Hey" I say nervously. "Do you want to set a wedding date?"

**Please Review!**


	24. Chapter 24

"Good morning" I murmur sleepily as I open my eyes.

"Good morning gorgeous" he answers as he kisses the back of my head.

"What did you think of the talk we had last night?" I ask nervously.

"I loved the talk we had last night, but I loved what happened after the talk even more" he replies with a chuckle.

"I think we made some progress" I nod. "Towards the wedding, and our future…"

"So a month and a half then?" Wade asks as he rubs my belly.

"I'll be bigger then" I groan as I lean into his chest.

"I can't wait" he grins.

"What?" I gasp.

"You're all curvy, it's adorable" he explains. "Besides you gettin' bigger means that the little ones are healthy."

"Well they're certainly healthy now" I say as I shift uncomfortably. "They've been kicking up a storm all morning."

"I love it" Wade says dreamily.

"I do too" I admit.

"You're going to be a _very_ hot bride" Wade whispers in my ear.

"I'm going to be a very pregnant bride" I scoff. "I'll be in my third trimester by then, where the hell am I supposed to find a maternity wedding dress in Bluebell?"

"You could always order one off one of those fancy stores on the internet" he suggests.

"That might not be such a bad idea" I beam as I roll out of bed.

"Where are you going?" Wade whines.

"I'm just grabbing my laptop" I call out from the hall. "We are going wedding dress shopping!" I say excitedly as I climb back into bed with him.

"Isn't that like bad luck or something?"

"No, it's only bad luck if you see _me_ in it. It doesn't make a difference if you see a random internet model wearing it."

"Well, you're the only one I want to see in a wedding dress" he says as he kisses my nose.

"Please" I pout. "I can't do this by myself, besides I want to get a dress you'll like."

"Okay Doc, I'll help you, but it's only because you look really freaking sexy when you make that face."

"Who would have thought they'd have a website just for maternity wedding dresses?" he asks.

"It's the 21st century Wade" I tease as I bat my eyelashes at him. "Oh!" I gasp as I look at the sreen."This one's kind of cute, what do you think?"

"It's black" he answers distastefully.

"Yeah" I shrug.

"Wedding dresses are supposed to be white."

"Don't you think this might be a more honest color? Everybody knows I'm pregnant."

"Weren't you just carrying on about how it's the 21st century? I want you in white!"

"Okay" I sigh. "What about this one?"

"Are those feathers?" he gapes.

"Yes, it's a trend" I explain.

"It's stupid" he responds.

"Fine" I say rolling my eyes. "This one?"

As he looks at the dress his demeanor instantly changes. "Yeah" he says breathlessly. "Yeah, I think you'd look real pretty in this one."

"Really?" I ask smiling widely.

"Yeah, it's- it's beautiful."

"Okay, then I'll order this one" I giggle.

"Are you sure?" he asks as he clears his throat. "There has to be a ton of them out there, don't you want to look more?"

"No" I say as I shake my head. "That reaction was enough. I know this is the one I want."

"Well, you're going to look gorgeous" he says as he kisses me. "Now, do you want to go get some breakfast?"

"No!" I scoff. "We have more to plan! What were you thinking for colors? Or flowers? Or music? And Oh, where should we have the ceremony….?"

"Doc" Wade interrupts. "I could care less about all that stuff, whatever you want is fine. All that matters to me is that in six weeks I'll have you in a white dress with a ring on your pretty little finger."

"But- I don't know if I can make all these decisions by myself" I say frantically.

"Then talk to Wanda or Tansy or something" he shrugs.

"Fine" I groan. "You don't have any opinions about anything?"

"Okay" he admits. "But, promise me you won't tell anybody about this because I'd totally lose a man card."

"What?" I ask wide-eyed, sufficiently curious about what he is going to say.

"It's just for the bouquet you'll carry when you walk down the aisle- white roses might be nice."

"Okay" I smile. "There's one decision, I'll knock that off the list, but there's so much more left!"

"Well then let's get you on over to the Rammer Jammer so you can chit-chat with your girlfriends" he says as he offers me his hand.

I take his hand and fall into his arms. "That sounds good" I whisper in his ear. "But I need a shower first, would you like to join me?"

"What do you think Doc?" he asks as he scoops me up in his arms and carries me out of the bedroom. "This is my favorite way to start the day. And just think, after a month and a half, we can start everey morning like this for the rest of our lives."

**Please Review!**


	25. Chapter 25

"Hello" I say smiling sweetly at Wade as he walks through the door. "Did you have a nice day?"

"Mmmm" he moans as he leans in to kiss me. "It just got a whole lot nicer."

I smile at him in one of those rare moments of pure happiness. I love Wade, and he loves me back, and we're getting married, and having kids, and I'm finally letting myself relax and enjoy it all. I'm finally letting myself be happy again.

"You hungry Doc?" he asks rubbing my arm.

"Yes" I say excitedly. "I made dinner!"

"What?" he gapes.

"Since it's our first official night together in the house all moved in, I thought I'd start a nice tradition."

"Um, I thought we'd go to the Rammer Jammer" he says nervously as he scratches the back of his neck.

"You just got back from the Rammer Jammer" I laugh.

"Yeah, but it's just I thought-"

"My cooking isn't that bad" I say reassuringly. "It's chicken pot pie. It actually smells pretty good."

"I'm sure that it's fantastic Doc, it's just I was looking forward to a burger."

"You can't readjust?" I ask as I cut a slice. "I worked really hard on this."

"And I appreciate that, I _really_ do, and I love that you're acting all domesticated, and I'd love to have a big ole' slice of that tomorrow, but for tonight I really want to go to the Rammer Jammer."

"You're acting weird" I say suspiciously.

"What's weird about a man wanting a burger?" he responds defensively.

"Nothing" I say as I shake my head and put the pie back in the refrigerator. "If it means _that _much to you…"

"It does" he says excitedly as he takes my hand. "Come on, let's go."

"You _are_ acting weird" I say as he guides me out the door. "Why the hell are you so excited?"

"I'm hungry" he shrugs as he tries to hold back a grin. "Come on, walk faster" he urges as he pulls me along.

"What is going on?" I giggle.

"Nothing. Goodness Doc, you're so paranoid" he teases.

"Okay we're here!" he announces loudly as we approach the door.

"I can see that!" I reply staring at him curiously.

"SURPRISE!" I hear in the form of a loud scream as we walk in.

"What is this?" I ask as I smile at Wade.

"This is your wedding shower/baby shower/ bachelorette party!" Annabeth announces excitedly as she places a tiara on my head.

"Hey" Wade scolds bemused. "You didn't say anything about a bachelorette party."

"It'll be tame, I promise" Annabeth says reassuringly.

"Maybe I should hang around" Wade says as he glances around.

"No boy's allowed" Tansy scolds.

"Okay, I'll see you later Doc" he says as he kisses the top of my head. "And don't party too hard, I don't want those little one's sliding out of you early."

"I'll be careful" I giggle. "I promise."

"Okay, I love you" he says as he makes his way out the door.

"Awww" Shelley says teasingly.

I smile back at her and then scan the room. "Wow, you guys really went all out" I say impressed.

"You only get married once!" Wanda says excitedly as she hands me a shot.

"I really shouldn't drink" I say glancing down at my swollen belly.

"Oh, you don't really believe all that nonsense?"

"It isn't nonsense" I reply horrified. "Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is a serious medical condition and-"

"My mama drank all the time when she was pregnant with me" she says rolling her eyes as she walks away.

"Here" Tansy says as she trades her glass for mine. "This is tonic water."

"Thank you" I nod. I need to remember to have a talk with Wanda if she ever gets pregnant.

"Which shower game should we play first?" Lemon asks in a commanding voice.

"Lemon came?" I ask Tansy in a whisper.

"Oh yeah, she pretty much took over the party planning. That girl never met a party she didn't want to plan, I think she might have a problem."

"Who wants to guess how big Zoe's belly is?" she asks loudly.

"Oh that sounds like a hoot and a half, but why not start somewhere else" I say skeptically.

"Okay, let's play guess the baby food."

"That sounds disgusting" I mutter to Tansy.

"I know, but just humor her, we'll have fun later" she says with a smile.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Well I should get going" Lemon sighs as we finish playing her last ridiculous shower game."I'm happy for you Zoe. Really."

"Thank you Lemon" I smile. "That means a lot to me."

"Now we can really get the party started!" Shelley says excitedly as Lemon walks out.

"I thought Lemon's games were fun" Annabeth says defensively.

"Definitely" I agree trying to sound sincere. "But, now what?"

"Well we could open your wedding/baby presents!" Tansy suggests.

"Okay" I say happily. "I love presents."

"This one's from me" Tansy says excitedly as she hands me a little box.

"Aww" I reply as I open it. "A teddy bear."

"Actually- it's two teddy bears" she corrects. "A pink one and a blue one."

"It's perfect" I say as I hug her. "Thank you so much."

"My turn" Annabeth says excitedly.

"Oh okay" I respond as another box is quickly handed to me.

"It's huge!" I comment as I look the box over.

"Open it!" she commands with a huge smile on her face.

"Oh my" I say as I look in the box. It's clothes- a ton of clothes. "You bought the babies an entire wardrobe" I giggle.

"I went a little overboard" she admits sheepishly. "But baby clothes are just so damn cute!"

"They are" I agree as I hold up a pink, ruffled dress. "Oh my God" I gasp as I look deeper into the box. "Are these little suspenders?"

"I know, couldn't you just die" she squeals.

"These are great thank you" I say appreciatively.

"This is from Lemon" Tansy says handing me another box. I wonder what Lemon would have gotten me?

"It's beautiful" I gasp as I look at it. It's a silver rattle with engravings of the babies' initials. "This was so nice of her" I add, shocked that the women who only a year ago hated my guts, is now planning parties for me and giving me presents.

"Now for your wedding presents!" Tansy says quickly changing the mood. "This one's from me."

"Thank you Tansy" I smile as I rip the paper away.

"It's the complete Dolly Parton anthology" she squeals. "I thought you could play some of the songs during the reception."

"That sounds great" I smile back at her. "Thank you."

"And this is from me" Wanda says.

"It's gorgeous" I say as I open the small jewelry box. "Isn't the necklace you wore at your wedding?"

"Yes, I got it from Lemon. The women of Bluebell have passing this old thing around to each other since forever. I thought it'd make your perfect something borrowed."

"It is" I smile. "It's perfect." I love that I'm a "woman of Bluebell." I love that I have a place here, that I feel at home.

"Oh tissue alert" Wanda says jokingly as she hands me a Kleenex from her back pocket.

"I'm hormonal" I say defensively as I wipe a tear from my cheek.

"There's one more present left" Shelley says, "You might not want to put the tissue away."

"Oh no" I cringe. "What is it?"

"Well, I sort of broke employee/employee confidentiality here" she says as she hands me a box.

"It's okay" I shrug. "I don't think that's actually a thing."

It's a book. "Mansfield Park?" I ask confused as I look it over. Why is Shelley giving this to me as a wedding shower present? "Thank you, I love this book I used to own a copy but-"

"But you lost it" she finishes.

"Yeah" I answer suspiciously. "Is this the one I lost?"

"It is" she nods.

"How'd you end up it with it?"

"I stole it" she admits proudly.

"So you stole my book, and now you're giving it back to me as a present?"

"No silly, I didn't steal it from you, I stole it from Wade. Now, here's where you might want to get your tissue out."

"Okay" I say confused. "Explain."

"You came in here with that book on one of your first few days in Bluebell. Wade couldn't stop staring at you the whole time you were in here, and you didn't even notice because you were so sucked into the story. You got called away and you ran out and left it behind, Wade picked it up and ever since then it's sat in the back of the bar next to a dictionary, and a highlighter. Wade reads parts of it on his breaks sometimes.

"Really?" I gasp. "I had no idea Wade was into British Literature."

"He isn't silly" she says exasperated. "He's into you, and he has been since the day he met you. He started reading it so he'd have something to talk to you about. Now how's that for a story to tell the grandkids?"

I take the book and hold it against my chest. I had no idea. I had no idea Wade cared about me so much, back then anyway. I had no idea he could be so… romantic. Why didn't he ever tell me this? Why didn't he ever tell me that he stole my book… Okay I kind of get it. It does sound a little strange, but it's so… cute. I want to kiss him, I want to do other things too, but I can't leave my own shower.

"I think it's time for the bachelorette party portion of the evening" Wanda says as she cranks the music up.

Oh boy, this should be interesting.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

I try to sneak out after an hour of watching everyone else drunkenly dance to Carrie Underwood, but Tansy, the only other sober one catches me.

"Sneaking off to see the groom?" she teases.

"Yeah" I admit sheepishly. "I'm sorry, the party was great, thank you so much."

"It was nothing" she smiles. "You might have to return the favor in a few months."

"You're pregnant?" I gasp.

"Oh no" she replies shaking her head violently. "Good Lord, no. I just think George might propose soon."

"Tansy!" I squeal as I hug her. "That's wonderful. Congratulations!"

"Congratulations to you too" she nods. "I know Wade screwed up, but it's obvious that he's in love with you."

"I know" I smile as I place my hand over my belly. "I love him too, I've never been this happy."

"I'm glad you too worked it out. I was always routing for you too, I just didn't want to admit it front of you-know-who."

"Is George still pissed?" I ask nervously.

"A little bit" she admits. "But he's agreed to come to the wedding! I can't believe it's only two weeks away."

"I know" I groan. "I still have so much work to do."

"Don't worry about that tonight" she smiles. "Go see your groom."

"I intend to do just that" I giggle as I walk away.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Hey, how's my bachelorette doing?" Wade asks as he opens the door for me.

"I love you" I say as I quickly wrap my arms around him and start to kiss him.

"Wow" he replies as he pulls back and gazes at me. "Where's this coming from?"

"I know about the book" I wink at him.

"What book?" he replies confused.

"_The_ book" I answer. "The one you stole from me" I add teasingly.

He looks confused for another second before his eyes widen. "I just-"

"You just love me" I reply as I curl my arms around his neck. "And I love you right back Wade Kinsella."

"Oh yeah?" he asks as he lifts me up in his arms.

"Yeah" I giggle. "But you're going to throw your back out if you keep lifting me like this."

"You're worth it" he smiles as he starts to kiss me again.

**Please Review!**


	26. Chapter 26

It's been a _long _day at work, and I can't wait to slip into a bubble bath and then change into sweats and go to sleep. My feet are killing me, my back is killing me, my head is killing me. I'm in my third trimester now, and I feel like every day I get bigger. Thank God the wedding is tomorrow, if it were any further away, I'm not sure I'd be able to squeeze into my dress.

It's so surreal that the day is almost here. In a way, I've been waiting for this my entire life, and now it's actually happening.

As I open the front door and walk into the house a wide grin spreads across my face. Wade left me a note, along with a box of cookies. My man knows me well.

_Dear, Almost- Dr. Kinsella_

_I know you're all paranoid about it being bad luck if we see each other tonight, so I'm staying at Lavon's. But, I still wanted to put a smile on that pretty little face of yours, so I got you some of those fancy cookies you like. I hope you like 'em. I can't wait till the wedding tomorrow, and I really can't wait for the honeymoon. Love ya._

_Wade._

I still can't believe it. I can't believe he loves me this much, and that I love him back. I can't believe that my obnoxious, electricity stealing man-whore of a next-door neighbor would wind up being the sweetest man I've ever been with, my husband, the father of my children, the love of my life.

Okay, I'm getting way too corny here. I need to stop before I start crying again.

I lounge on the couch as I dig in to the black and white cookies that my soon to be husband got for me. I take a deep breath and look around the house. Soon there will be two sets of little feet running around here. In three short months Wade and I will be married with kids. A little house on the corner, a white picket fence, a minivan, the works- it's just like Wade said to the babies back at the hospital all those months ago. I try my best to focus on how happy I am rather than be pissed that Wade totally broke me down and got his way. It's still so surreal. I didn't really expect any of this when I moved to Bluebell. I didn't expect to love my job as a gp, I didn't expect to make so many friends, I didn't expect to fall in love with the town, I didn't expect to fall in love with Wade, and I definitely didn't expect to get married to him and have his children. But, I'm happier than I ever could have been in New York. Though I never knew it, this is the life I've always wanted. I've always wanted to have a home, I've always wanted to be this loved.

As I take a break from pondering how my life has lead up to this moment I realize that I've eaten half the box of cookies. Damn, I really can't afford to pig out like this. As it is I'm not sure I'm going to be able to squeeze into this dress. I decide to try it on again to calm my worries.

I walk upstairs and into the master bedroom. I pull the dress out of the closet and stare at it. Wade's right, it is a beautiful dress. I slip into it as gracefully as I can with my big belly in the way and look myself in the mirror. It fits, and damn it I look good. I throw my hair up in a ponytail with a hair tie from my dresser and put some lip gloss on to give myself a better idea of how I'll actually look tomorrow.

"Mrs. Wade Kinsella" I say to myself softly.

"I thought it was doctor Kinsella" I hear a familiar voice say softly.

"Wade!" I scream as I run into the closet. "What are you doing here? You can't see me in my dress!"

"It's a little late for that Doc" he teases as he chases me.

"Wade, I'm serious! You can't see me!"

"I already did" he chuckles. "You look amazing, let me get a closer look at you."

"Absolutely not" I squeal.

"Oh come on, you don't really believe in all that bad luck voodoo nonsense do you? You are a doctor after all."

"Fine" I snap as I walk towards him. "Since you've already ruined everything and snuck in here to see me…"

"My God" he gasps.

"What?" I say insecurely as I look down to see if something's wrong.

"You- you look- you're beautiful."

"Really?" I beam.

"Yeah, um- wow."

"You're speechless" I tease. "Wade Kinsella is actually speechless."

"Yes he is" he says as he moves towards me and takes out my pony tail so my hair falls. "How the hell did I get so lucky?"

"I don't know" I shrug.

He moves to undo my zipper but I stop him.

"What are you doing?" I squeal.

"It's just, I thought-"

"Wade, it's bad enough that you saw me the night before the wedding, in my dress, we are not going to… I don't even want to think about what kind of luck that's going to bring us."

"But you look so-"

"Don't" I scold. "Wade Kinsella, don't you dare seduce me."

"Oh, I wouldn't dream of it" he says as he pulls me into his arms and starts kissing my neck.

"Wade I am serious!" I squeal. "You aren't getting your way on this one."

"I love you" he says as gazes into my eyes. "My God, I love you so much."

"Damn it" I mutter as I move in to kiss him.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Why did you come here anyway?" I ask him as he strokes my belly.

"I was worried about you" he says as he pulls me closer.

"Wade, don't you think that's just a little bit over protective, even for you. It's one night, I would have been by myself."

"It's just- Doc, I don't want to upset you, but I heard something tonight."

"What?" I ask nervously as I turn to look at him.

"That ex-boyfriend of yours, the jackass that pushed you- he got arrested tonight."

"My God, for what?" I ask urgently.

"Assault, they didn't say who the victim was, I thought-"

"You thought he hurt me?" I say sympathetically.

"Yeah" he says as he strokes my arm. "I was so worried, I felt like I couldn't breathe. When I came up here and saw you, and you were okay… I've never been so relieved in my life."

"I'm fine" I reply with a smile. "Really, I'm fine. I haven't seen Zach since that time we all went out to breakfast all those months ago, I didn't even know he was still in Alabama."

"Yeah" Wade scoffs. "I wish he wasn't."

"Hey" I say softly. "You don't have anything to worry about, I'm sure that he won't bother me again, he hasn't for so many months-"

"He's not going to bother you because I ain't gonna let him. If he goes anywhere near you or the babies…"

"He'll have you to deal with" I answer with a smile.

"Damn straight" he replies seriously. "I'll always protect you Zoe."

"And, I appreciate that. Really, I do. You're so sweet, but I don't want to talk about Zach anymore."

"Well what do you want to talk about gorgeous?"

"Tomorrow" I answer with a giggle.

"Oh, about that. I asked Lavon something, I hope you don't mind."

"What'd you ask him?"

"Well, I know you felt a little bad about not having someone to walk you down the aisle."

"Right" I say as I gaze down sadly.

"So" he says as he lifts up my chin so I'm looking at him. "I asked Lavon to do it."

"But he's your best man."

"He can do both" he smiles. "I know how much Lavon means to you, and he loves you _almost_ as much as I do, so-"

"It's perfect" I say as I lean into his chest. "It's absolutely perfect. Thank you."

"You're welcome" he chuckles.

"I can't wait to marry you" I say with a yawn.

"Me too Doc" he responds as he runs his fingers through my hair. "I can't wait to marry you either."

**Please Review!**


	27. Chapter 27

"You look amazing" Tansy says as she joins me in front of the mirror.

"Really?" I ask nervously. "Because I bought the dress online, and I'm not really sure about the train…"

"Oh stop it, you're a knock out. Wade is totally going to cry when he sees you."

"No" I shake my head. "Wade really isn't really the crying type."

"Please, their isn't going to be a dry eye in the place when they see you."

"Thanks for doing my hair and makeup" I smile.

"Aw, you're welcome honey. But, seriously, you are one of the prettiest brides I've ever seen in my life."

"You don't look so bad yourself" I say back. "Pink is definitely your color. George is certainly going to be happy to see you."

"Thank you" she smiles back shyly.

"I'm serious; I'm guessing it will only be a few months until you're the one wearing this Bluebell wedding necklace."

"Oh!" she says as she reaches into her bag. "Speaking of the necklace- as your maid of honor I took it upon myself to find your something new, and blue. Your mama's got your something old."

"Really?" I gasp. "I get more presents?"

"Of course you do" she smiles. "All the girls chipped in to get you this."

"A charm bracelet?" I ask gleefully. "My God, I haven't had one of these since Middle School."

"They're supposed to represent moments in your relationship. I just went off what I know about both of you, and stories you've told me over the past few months. There's a beer bottle for the rammer jammer, a convertible like the one you and Wade first um… kissed in, an armadillo like the one you two had to catch together, a book like the one he stole from you, a lightning bolt like electricity since that's what you two you used to fight about all the time- that one's a bit of a reach I know, this one's shaped like Alabama since you guys met here, and then there's a little pink bootie, and a little blue bootie- which also takes care of your something blue."

"This is amazing" I say in awed whisper. "I _love _it. I think this might be my favorite present ever."

"I'm so glad you like it!" she squeals excitedly.

"Where the hell did you find an armadillo charm?" I laugh.

"You'd be shocked by what you can find online."

"Oh my gosh!" I hear my mom gasp from across the room. "Aw, darling you look beautiful."

"Thank you mom" I nod appreciatively as she hugs me.

"I'll give you two a minute alone" Tansy says softly as she makes her way out the door.

"You know" my mom whispers in my ear. "You don't have to do this."

"Mom!" I snap as I pull back. "Please don't do this now. _Please_."

"I don't want to fight with you. It's just- are you sure this is what you want?"

"Yes. I'm sure, I've never wanted anything more."

"Then I'm happy for you" she nods. "There's something I've wanted to give you on your wedding day since you were a little girl" she says through tears as she hands me a box. "It was the veil I wore when I married your… when I married Ethan."

"It's beautiful" I gasp.

"It should be; it cost more than my dress."

"I love it" I say as I hug her. "Thank you mom, for everything. For the veil, for being supportive… or more supportive anyway."

"Of course darling" she says as she wipes a tear from my face. "I love you Zoe, you are the single most important thing in my life."

"I love you too" I smile.

"Um, do you happen to know if Earl will be at the ceremony?" my mother asks, abruptly changing the subject.

"Yes" I cringe as images from the last time I saw them together fly through my head. "Why do you ask?"

"No reason. I was just wondering" she responds nonchalantly. "I'll see you at the ceremony."

"Okay" I say as I watch her leave. I fiddle with the veil for a few moments before it looks right.

"Oh my God" I gasp as I look at myself in the mirror. "I really look like a bride, this is really happening."

"Well hello gorgeous" Lavon says as he walks into the room.

"Hey" I respond excitedly as I walk over to him and wrap him in a hug. "Thank you so much for doing this."

"It's ,my pleasure" he laughs as he pulls back and looks at me. "You look beautiful Z."

"Thank you" I grin.

"Now you're sure you want to marry Wade?" he asks jokingly. "Because I can give you a ride if you want to take off."

"Stop it" I answer playfully as I slap his arm. "You're starting to sound like my mother."

"Wouldn't want that" he chuckles. "Well, come on now, you don't want to be late to your own wedding."

"Definitely not" I agree as I take his hand.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As the doors of the church open I'm blown away by how gorgeous it looks. Tansy really outdid herself decorating. For one sad moment my mind slips back to Wanda's wedding when I thought Wade and I were over, but as soon as see his face everything else seems to melt away.

Wade's beaming from ear to ear, and he should be. He's gotten everything he's wanted. I took him back, bought a house with him, and now I'm marrying him- all before the babies came. He's got the little family that he wanted so desperately since I've told him that I was pregnant. But, if I'm honest with myself this is what I've always wanted too. I haven't felt like I was a part of a family for so long, and now I'm part of the best family ever.

Lavon kisses my cheek as he walks away, and I take Wade's hand in mine.

"Hey" I say nervously, a wide grin spreading across my face.

"Hey yourself" he smiles back. "You look incredible."

"You already saw me in the dress" I giggle.

"Well you look even more beautiful today, I didn't think it was possible."

Reverend Mayfair starts to talk, and I know I should probably be paying attention to what he is saying, but I can't help but think about the future. Of what me and Wade will have together, of a white picket fence, and a minivan, and two chubby little toddlers running around our house. I love him so much, and I love the idea of spending the rest of my life with him.

"Zoe and Wade have written their own vows" Reverend Mayfair says motioning to both of us.

"Right" I respond as I turn to Tansy.

I look to Wade nervously. "Lady's first" he smiles.

"Okay" I answer. "Wade, I love you. I love you more than I even realized I could love anyone. You challenge me in every way. You make me feel such a range of emotions- fear, lust, frustration, fury… and I never want it to stop. Every day with you brings another surprise and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life enjoying all of the wonderful surprises you bring."

I look up for a minute and see Wade smiling at me with tears in his eyes. I smile back and he grasps my hands tighter.

"So" I giggle. "I promise to always be there for you whenever you need me, to be there for you in good times and bad, through thick and thin, no matter what. I promise to love and cherish you- as my friend, as my husband, as the father of my children, as the love my life."

"Now I guess it's my turn" he says wiping a tear from his eye. "I really don't see how I'm gonna beat that though."

I give him a reassuring smile and he clears his throat before reading off his paper.

"Zoe, since the moment you barged into my house to yell at me about the electricity I knew you were something special. You are everything to me darling. You've made me the happiest man in the world. I will never forget how lucky I am that you took me back, or that you even gave me a second look in the first place. I promise to spend every day for the rest of our lives making you and the babies happy. I will always protect you, I will always love you…. That's all I got."

"It was perfect" I wink at him.

"Now, _if_ anyone _has any reason why these two should not be_ wed, speak now or forever hold your peace."

"That would be me" I hear a male voice call from the back of the church.

"Zach?" I gape.

"You belong with me Zoe" he stutters as he moves closer to us.

"Are you drunk?" I ask as I note the way he's walking.

"You need to get the hell out of here" Wade says angrily as he puts his arm in front of me protectively.

"Come on" Lavon says as he walks towards him. "It's time to go."

"Get the hell away from me!" he yells as he pulls something from his pocket.

Dear God it's a gun, Zach has a gun. Everyone I care about is in this room, and this crazy bastard is waving a gun around.

"Zach!" I yell. "Do not do anything stupid. Put the gun down. Don't ruin your life like this."

"Don't you get it Zoe?" he cries "None of it matters without you. My life's already over. If I can't have you no one else can either."

What the hell does that mean!? Is he going to hurt Wade?

"Come with me" he begs. "Don't marry him, come with me."

I look at Wade for second and then turn back to Zach. "If I do, you'll put the gun down? You won't hurt anyone?"

"Of course not" he nods as he begins to smile.

I take a deep breath and walk towards him.

"No" Wade yells as he holds me back. "No, you ain't going anywhere with him."

"I'm sorry" I say shakily as I struggle to pull away from him. "I'm so sorry, but I couldn't live with myself if he hurt someone and it was my fault. I have to do this. I'm sorry. I love you."

**Please Review!**


	28. Chapter 28

"No" Wade protests as he tightens his grip on me. "If you think I'm lettin' you go anywhere with him you're crazy Doc."

"He's got a gun Wade!" I whisper.

"I can see that" he grits through his teeth. "That's why I ain't lettin' you take off with him."

"What if he hurts you?" I say as tears fill my eyes. "This is the only way to make sure that he isn't going start shooting-"

Our conversation is interrupted as Lavon tackles Zach to the floor. My heart stops as I watch them struggle. My God, what if he shoots Lavon? Why is he doing this? What was he thinking? I hear the gun go off and my breath hitches in my throat.

My worries subside as I see Lavon stand to his feet holding the gun.

"Call 911" he says as he continues to point the gun at an unconscious Zach.

"Thank God" I gasp as Wade releases me.

"You okay?" Wade asks gazing at me.

"Yeah" I answer as I catch my breath. "Yeah, I'm fine. I think I'm going to have some bruises though" I add as I rub one of the spots on my arms where Wade was holding me.

"Better than a bullet" he hisses. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"I just didn't want him to hurt anyone" I answer defensively.

"You're pregnant Doc" he yells. "Did you even think of that!?"

"I didn't think he'd hurt me, I wasn't so sure about you though" I explain.

"He's already hurt you! He's a complete nutcase. He could have killed you. I could have lost you _and _the babies. Do you have any idea what that would have done to me? Do you have any idea how scared I was when I thought-"

"Wade, you're shouting" I interrupt. "Everyone's staring."

He looks down for a minute and then looks back up at me. "It would have killed me to lose you Doc."

"I know" I answer sympathetically. "I'm sorry."

"Are you really?" he asks. "Because you've got to promise me you're never going to do anything that stupid again."

"I promise" I answer as I stare down at the floor.

"You've got a family now" he continues as he takes my hand. "You need to watch out for yourself cuz I'd be lost without you, and so would the kids. It ain't easy going through life without a mama."

"I know" I say gazing at him sympathetically. "I really am sorry Wade, it's just- I thought he was going to hurt you. I wasn't thinking."

"I would die for you. If it ever comes down to it being my life or yours- chose yours every time. You got that? It would kill me to lose you, or those kids. I'd rather die."

"Let's stop talking about dying" I reply. "This is still our wedding after all."

"Would you like to continue with the ceremony?" Reverend Mayfair chimes in.

"Why don't we wait until someone comes to pick the bloddy gunshot victim up off the floor" Wade replies as he rolls his eyes.

"I should look at him" I say as I make my way towards him.

"No" Wade shouts as he grabs my hand. "What did I just get done tellin' you?"

"Wade, he's unconscious and Lavon had the gun. He needs a doctor."

"I hope he bleeds to death" Wade scoffs.

"Wade!" I scold. "I have to help him, I took the Hippocratic oath."

"I really don't think that applies when your crazy ex-boyfriend crashes your wedding and tries to drag you away at gunpoint!"

"I'll look at him" Jonah says as he gets up from his seat. "I hate to see the newlyweds fight. Though if you two keep having problems you can always call me Zoe" he adds with a wink.

"I'm standin' right here" Wade yells at him as he grasps my hand tighter.

"Okay" I shrug. "Problem solved."

"I hate that guy" Wade mutters.

"I know" I answer sympathetically. "But you know you've got nothing to worry about."

The church soon becomes a circus as the place fills with paramedics, and policemen, and reporters. It suddenly occurs to me that we aren't going to be able to finish with the ceremony. Not like this, not today.

After the police takes Wade's and my statement I walk over to Lavon and hug him.

"You saved my life" I say softly. "Thank you."

"Just performing my 'father of the bride' duties" he smiles. "I was never going to let him take you, and Wade wasn't either. You should go talk to him" he adds as he points to Wade who has just finished talking to someone.

"I'm sorry" I say softly. "This isn't really the way I wanted our wedding to go."

"Really, because this is the wedding I've always dreamed of" he answers with an eye roll.

"You still want to marry me?" I ask nervously.

"I already did" he smiles.

"Not all the way" I reply teasingly.

"Well it looks like it's not going to happen today" he laughs.

"I want to marry you today" I pout.

"I know Doc, me too" he replies as he pulls me into his arms and puts his hands on my belly.

"Why don't we grab Lavon, and Tansy, and Reverend Mayfair once all this settles down and finish up in his office or something" I suggest. "Just the five of us. It will be nice, it will be like we got to have a big wedding in front of the whole town, and a small intimate one."

"Yeah, I wouldn't call that crazy bastard trying to kidnap you 'nice,' but I see where you're going with the idea. I do really want you to be Mrs. Kinsella."

"Dr. Kinsella" I correct as I run my hands through his hair.

"Right" he chuckles. "Dr. Kinsella."

"Hey" Earl yells as he walks up to us. "Beautiful ceremony, best wedding I've ever been to! I'm so happy for you kids."

"Thanks Earl" Wade nods as he rolls his eyes. "Glad you could make it."

"I wouldn't have missed it for the world!"

I smile at him and he points at me and begins yelling again. "You have those babies yet?"

"No" I answer. "I still have three months."

"Gosh" he mutters. "It seems like it used to take less time than that."

"No" I answer. "The human gestation period has always taken nine months."

"Well" he sighs. "See you later."

"See ya Earl" Wade nods.

"Earl liked the ceremony" I shrug.

"That's because Earl was too drunk to notice the near hostage situation" he replies as he stares down at the floor. "I was really so scared Zoe, I never want to come that close to losing you again."

"I know" I answer as I hug him. "I'm sorry I scared you. But hey, I see Tansy, and Lavon, and the Revrend- you want to go run my idea by them?"

"Yeah Doc" he answers as he kisses my nose. "Let's go finish getting' married."

**Please Review!**


	29. Chapter 29

"Okay" Reverend Mayfair says as he clears his throat. "Why don't we try this again?"

"Well we already did the vows, what's left?" I ask anxiously.

"Slow down girl, let's enjoy this" Wade teases.

"I want to marry you!" I beam. "I would think you'd be more anxious, you've only been trying to make this happen for the past six months."

"Alright, alright" he smiles. "Let's get on with it."

"Do we have rings?"

"Yes!" Tansy says as she holds them out to us. "I managed to hold on to them among all the craziness."

"Thank you" I smile.

"I've been a long time to put a ring on your finger Doc" he laughs as he takes it in his hand.

"Well, now you can. I'm all yours. Forever."

"Can I kiss her yet?" he asks turning to Reverend Mayfair.

"No, we haven't gotten to that part yet" he smiles. "Do you Zoe, take Wade for your lawful wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death parts you."

"Let me think about it for a minute" I tease.

Wade glares at me playfully and a grin spreads across my face.

"I do."

"And do you Wade-"

"I do!" he interrupts. "I'm sure of it- could you just pronounce us already before another lunatic with a gun shows up?"

"All right" he sighs. "Then by the power vested in me by the state of Alabama I now pronounce you man and wife. Now you may kiss the bride."

"Finally" he gasps as he pulls me tightly into his arms and plants a kiss on me that could stop traffic.

I giggle as he picks me up and carries me out of the church.

"Wade" I giggle. "You aren't supposed to carry me until we get to the threshold."

"We ain't goin' home yet Doc" he laughs.

"What are you talking about?" I ask nervously as he begins to walk towards the Rammer Jammer.

"I salvaged your wedding reception!" Tansy yells as she follows us.

"I get a wedding reception?" I giggle.

"Of course you do Doc" Wade replies as he kisses my cheek. "You get whatever you want."

"But" Lavon says as he runs up beside us. "Father of the bride gets the first dance."

"Hey" Wade says as he puts me down. "After what you did- you can dance with this little lady as much as you'd like."

I smile and take Lavon's hand as he walks me into the Rammer Jammer.

"Remember the last time we danced here?" I smile.

"You weren't very happy then" he says smiling at me sympathetically.

"No I wasn't" I agree. "But I'm happy now! Very happy."

"I'm happy for you" he chuckles. "You deserve it. I'm glad you two worked it out. But listen, if he hurts you again-"

"He won't" I interrupt. "I really believe that he won't. I really trust him."

"Good" he smiles.

"I really don't know how to thank you Lavon, for everything. You were all I had when I first found out about the babies. You were willing to do anything to help me, and what you did back there-"

"All the people I cared about in the world were in that church" he interrupts. "I wasn't going to let that jerk hurt any of you."

"Is Annabeth one of those people?" I ask arching a brow.

"Yes" he answers sheepishly.

"She's all alone over there" I say pointing her out. "Why don't you ask her to dance with you?"

"Because" he answers as he dips me. "I'm dancing with my best friend. Besides, she won't want to dance with me."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because she hasn't been interested in me in months."

"I don't think that's true, I've seen the way she looks at you."

"The situation with Lemon hasn't changed" he shrugs.

"I don't know that I'd say that. Lemon's evolved. I think she just might let her best friend have a chance at happiness with a gorgeous, loyal, kind-hearted former linebacker turned best town mayor ever!"

"Stop it" he grins.

"I'm serious- you should go for it!"

"Okay" he says throwing his hands up in defeat. "But if she turns me down-"

"I will take full responsibility" I finish. "Now go before somebody else scoops her up!"

"Can I cut in?" Wade asks pulling me into his arms.

"Hello Mr. Kinsella" I say playfully.

"Hello Dr. Kinsella" he responds. "How are the little one's doing with all the excitement?"

"They're fine" I answer. "But their mama's got swollen feet and a sore back."

"Well" Wade says as he takes me in his arms. "I guess we'll just have to find a chair for her then."

"I can't believe Tansy pulled this off" I say looking around. "I thought that after the whole Zach debacle the reception wouldn't be salvageable."

"Well, you deserve it" he smiles. "Want a piece of cake?"

"You can't just take one!" I smile. "There needs to be a whole fancy cake cutting thing-"

"Screw that" he shrugs. "This party's for us we can do whatever we damn well please."

"Well" I shrug as I lean back in my chair. "Can't argue with that logic."

"Here you go" he says handing me a plate. "You picked out a good cake too" he smiles at me. "I've always loved chocolate cake."

"I know" I giggle as I take a bite. "That's why I picked it."

"You know me well Doc" he sighs as he takes the seat next to me and pulls me close so my head is resting on his shoulder. "We made it. We beat all odds and made it here. Nothing could stop us not my stupidity, or our parents, or your crazy ex-boyfriend… We are simply meant to be."

"I didn't think you believed in fate and all that stuff" I smile.

"I didn't" he shrugs. "Until I fell in love with you."

I notice the song playing and smile. "You remember this?" I ask.

"Of course I do" he nods. "This song was playing on the jukebox the first time you came in the Rammer Jammer."

"So it's kind of our song" I reply.

"You want to dance?" he asks.

"Yeah" I smile. "I think my feet can take one dance."

**Please Review!**


	30. Chapter 30

I wake up and smile as I remember yesterday. Wade and I are married- it didn't exactly go off without a hitch, but it happened! I'm Dr. Kinsella now. I can't even believe it, I have a family.

I'm suddenly startled by a loud noise. It sounds like a glass broke.

"Damn it!" I hear Wade yell from downstairs.

"Wade?" I call out. "You okay?"

"Uh… yeah, but I'm not ready for you yet. Stay upstairs."

"Not ready for me yet?" I laugh as I stand to my feet. "What does that mean?"

"I'm serious Doc, stay up there for now."

"Already so bossy" I tease as I roll my eyes. "We haven't even been married 24 hours."

"I don't want to ruin the surprise" he explains.

A surprise? I wonder what it could be. I've already gotten so many surprises these past few weeks. "I get a surprise?" I laugh.

"Of course you do, just wait one minute…. Okay, come on down."

"Okay, but it might take me a minute" I groan as I waddle over to the door of the bedroom. "I'm carrying a little extra weight here."

"Take your time" he replies softly. "You need help getting down the stairs?"

"No, I think I can handle it" I reply as I roll my eyes. Wade is so overprotective. God, I love him.

"Okay" I say as I round the corner. "Where's the surprise?"

"It's right here" he says as he grabs my hand and guides me into the dining room.

"Oh my God" I gasp. He's decorated the dining room. Soft music is playing, rose petals are scattered everywhere, there's a full breakfast laid out on the table with fresh fruit, waffles, maple syrup, eggs, toast, and bacon, and there's a bottle of sparkling white grape juice next to one wine glass.

"I dropped the other one" he shrugs.

"This is amazing" I smile as I pull him into my arms and plant a soft kiss on his lips. "Thank you, this is the perfect way to start our first day as a married couple."

"Oh, this isn't the whole surprise" he smiles.

"I get more?"

"Oh yeah, this Zoe Hart is our honeymoon."

"What?" I ask as I pick up a bacon strip and take a bite.

"I know you couldn't get more time away from the office with the babies coming and everything, and I couldn't afford anything too fancy, but you deserve a little something. Especially after that bastard ruined the wedding for you."

"He didn't ruin the wedding" I smile. "I married the love of my life, nothing could have ruined it for me"…. Okay, maybe if he actually did kidnap me or shoot Lavon he would have ruined it, but it all worked out in the end, so I might as well look on the bright side.

"I can't believe that we nearly had a hostage situation at the wedding!" I sigh. "It'll definitely be a story for the grandkids."

"I hope he goes to prison for a long time."

"Yeah" I shrug as I take a seat. "From what I hear he's still unconscious. Besides, I don't want to talk about Zach, I want to talk about my other surprises."

"Well" he smiles as he takes the seat next to me. "After breakfast, it'll be time for your massage."

"My massage?" I gasp. "Where?"

"Here" he grins.

"You hired someone to come to the house?"

"No" he gapes. "You think I'd pay some muscly guy to come to _my _house and put his hands all over _my _wife."

"Mmmm" I moan. "I like that."

"Excuse me?" he asks angrily.

"No, I wasn't talking about the whole massage thing. You called me your wife. I like that. I like being your wife."

"Well, I like you being my wife too" he agrees as he kisses my nose. "I'll be the one giving you the massage."

"Really? You know how to give massages?"

"How hard could it be?" he shrugs.

"This could be interesting" I grin mischievously. "What else do you have planned?"

"I got a movie."

"Which movie?"

"Cool Hand Luke" he smirks.

"Do you remember the last time we saw that movie?" I ask as I gaze into his deep blue eyes.

"Of course I do, that was the best night of my life, the night you took me back for real."

"That night was the first time the babies kicked too" I remind him.

"I remember; I love feeling those little one's move around in there. It makes it feel real."

"It is real" I reply in a warning tone. "In three months we're going to have _two_ babies."

"I can't wait to meet them" he giggles. "What do you think they'll be like?"

"I think they'll be like new born babies" I laugh.

"You think Susie's gonna be smart like you? Do you think she'll have your eyes?"

"I don't know" I tease. "Do you think Will's going to be sweet like you, and have your blonde hair?"

"I guess we'll have to wait to find out."

"I don't even know them yet, and I already love them so much."

"Me too" he grins. "But the truth is I've loved them since the moment I found out about them."

"Really?" I ask skeptically. "Because you seemed pretty freaked out when I told you I was pregnant."

"I was. I didn't know if you were ever gonna take me back, or if you'd even want me in the babies' life. I had no idea that in six months you'd make me the happiest man in the world."

"You're going to be a great father" I sigh.

"And you're gonna be a great mama" he agrees as he gets up from his chair and offers me his hand. "Ready for the rest of your honeymoon day Doc?"

"Yes" I grin as I stand to me feet and kiss him. "I'm ready for anything as long as you're here with me."

**Please Review!**


	31. Chapter 31

I sigh as I finally get to the front door. I can't wait to finally get these damn heels off.

"Hey Doc" Wade calls out as I make my way into the house.

"Hey" I answer back.

"How was your day?"

"Long" I groan. "I'm exhausted."

"Why don't you take a nap?" he suggests as he sits next to me on the couch and starts to rub my back.

"That does sound good."

"I know you're the town doctor and everything, but I really hate that you have to work when you're in this condition."

"I don't have a terminal disease" I scoff. "Plenty of pregnant women work."

"I know it's just, I wish I could take care of you better" he shrugs.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I wish you didn't have to work so hard."

"Wade, I don't work for the money. I do it because I love my job; I do it because I'm needed."

"I just- I don't know; I want you to be able to stay home when the kids come."

"Oh?" I ask arching a brow. "You want me barefoot, pregnant, and chained to the kitchen stove, do you?"

"It's better than being pregnant and working in five inch heels" he scolds as he slides my shoes off my feet. "What are you thinking Doc?"

"I'm vertically challenged remember?"

"Yeah well, I'm sure the people of Bluebell would rather have a short doctor than a crippled one" he laughs.

"Oh stop it" I answer playfully.

"Listen Doc" he sighs after taking a deep breath. "There's a reason I bring all this up, there's something I want to ask you."

"Oh? What's that?" I ask with a yawn as I lay down and rest my head on his lap.

"Well" he says as he starts stroking my hair. "They're having a contest in Mobile. There's a prize for the winner, and I was thinking if I did it solo this time-"

"You want to do another Battle of the Bands?" I ask as I still.

"Not if you don't want me to" he answers quickly. "I don't want to make you uncomfortable Doc."

"But you burned your guitar…"

"I know, I know. I still mean everything I said to you. This life means nothing to me anymore, it's just the only way I can think of to get the monet."

"This is about the bar?" I ask.

"Of course. I want to buy a bar so I have a way to support you and our babies."

"You know, we're married now Wade. What's yours is mine and what's mine is yours. We have plenty of money for you to start up the bar with. "

"No" he interrupts. "I already told you Doc, I'm not taking your money."

"But it's our money now" I protest.

"No. I need to do this on my own, I need to earn this, I don't want to mooch off you anymore."

"You don't mooch off me" I say gently.

"Look, Doc if you're worried about history repeating itself or something I won't do this. I don't want you upset."

I'm being silly; Wade has proven himself to me. Just because he's going to be a singing competition doesn't mean anything will happen. Besides, he's doing this because he wants to provide for me. It's sweet really. "There is one problem."

"What?"

"You don't have a guitar now."

"Meatball will let me borrow one of his" he shrugs. "You sure you don't have a problem with this?"

"Yes" I smile. "It's fine, really."

"You sure?" he asks suspiciously.

"Yes" I giggle. "I trust you Wade, that's why I married you."

"I love you" he says as he gets up, gently places my head on a throw pillow, and leans over to kiss me.

"I love you too."

"I'm gonna take care of you Doc" he promises. "I know" I smile as I rest my hand on my belly.

"And the little ones" he adds.

"Well we do have to put them both through Medical school" I tease.

"Pressuring the kids to follow in their mama's footsteps already" he teases back. "They're still in utero Doc."

"I just want the best for them" I murmur sleepily.

"Well" he sighs as he tucks a stray strand of hair behind my ear. "They're mama is the best woman in the whole world, and they're daddy loves her very much. I think that's a pretty good start."

"They're mama loves they're daddy back" I smile as I begin to drift off.

"Have a nice nap Doc, see you in a few."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

I stretch and yawn as I awake from my nap and find that Wade is still sitting on the couch with me.

"Have you been here the whole time?" I ask smiling widely.

"Yes" he admits with a grin. "I like watching you sleep, you look so peaceful. Besides, I got to have a little talk with the babies."

"You did?" I giggle. "About what?"

"I can't tell you that. It's a secret."

"Fine" I reply throwing my hands up in defeat.

"I did want to show you this though" he says handing me a flyer about the contest.

"Top prize $20,000" I read excitedly. "And it's only about a month away."

"Right, so I don't have to worry about you going into labor or anything while I'm on stage."

"Hopefully not" I smile. "I'll only be what… 28 weeks then?"

"Gosh, it's gone by so fast."

"I know, but pretty soon we'll get to meet them!" I beam.

"Hopefully not too soon, I want these little one's fully cooked before they come out."

"I don't know" I tease. "They might want to make an early appearance so they can see they're daddy's big debut as a rock star."

"They're will be none of that" he scolds as he speaks against my belly. "Now come on Doc, let's go on over to the Rammer Jammer. I'm starving so I know the three of you must be hungry too.

"We could eat" I smile as he helps me off the couch and pulls me into his arms.

"God I love you" he sighs as he kisses me.

"I love you too" I smile back. "Very much."

**Please Review!**


	32. Chapter 32

Today is finally Wade's big day. I'm so proud of him; I know he'll do awesome. I just hope he wins. He's got his heart set on buying a bar, and I want him to get what he wants. I can't wait to do the whole "I'm with the band thing" later tonight, but first I have to get through the rest of the work day.

I'm well into my third trimester and my feet are killing me, all the time. But I have to admit, I'm going to miss being pregnant once it's over. It's been nice having my kids with me all the time, I always have someone to talk to, I always know where they are, and I can always keep them safe. But at the same time, I can't wait to meet them for real. Wade and I have had so much fun guessing what they'll be like. He's convinced that Susie will be just like me. For her sake I hope she's at least a little different in some aspects. I hope she's not as stubborn, or bossy, or neurotic as I am. I've certainly gotten myself in some messy situations over the years and I don't want that for her. I don't want her to ever get hurt, but I guess that's fairly unrealistic! Mostly I hope that both of my kids never feel like I did growing up. I hope they always know their parents love them. I hope they never feel alone. Truth of the matter is, Wade and I both had complicated childhoods, but now we're both committed to making this little family work.

Brick took the day off, so it's been a little crazy, but I only have two patients left for the day, but one of them is Annabeth Nass. Typically, when Annabeth makes an appointment with me it's for some made up ailment, and the real reason she comes in is that she wants to talk. I'm hoping that this has to do with Lavon, he hasn't said anything since the wedding, but I definitely see sparks between the two of them.

"Hey Annabeth" I smile as I enter the exam room.

"Hey Zoe" she smiles back.

"What seems to be the problem?"

"What do you mean?" she asks looking around confused.

"Why did you need a doctor?"

"Oh! Right, um- I was a little worried that this cut on my finger might be infected."

"Okay, let me see it" I say as I walk over to her. "No" I say after only two seconds of looking at it. "It's just a hangnail, you should be fine."

"Oh good" she sighs feigning relief. "As long as I'm here, can I ask you a personal question?"

"Of course" I smile as I pull up a chair for me to sit in. "But you know you don't have to make an appointment to talk to me right?"

"Of course" she answers nervously. "Has… has Lavon mentioned me at all lately?"

"No" I answer honestly.

"Oh" she sighs looking disappointed.

"But I know for a fact that he likes you" I add. "I think he just might be waiting for you to make the first move."

"Really?" she asks.

"Yes, really" I smile. "And I might be biased since he's my best friend, but Lavon's pretty amazing. To borrow your words, you'd be crazy pants not to go for it."

"I'm just worried about Lemon" she sighs.

"Talk to her" I shrug. "Maybe she'll be fine with it, but even if she isn't… This is your life Anabelle, you should do what's going to make you happy."

"Thanks" she says looking down. "It's great being able to talk to you."

"Anytime" I say as I struggle to get out of the chair and waddle over to the door of the exam room.

"Oh" I gasp as I feel a weird tightness in my stomach.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing" I say as I try to figure out what's going on. It must be Braxton Hicks, it's too soon for me to be going into labor. "I'm fine" I sigh as the feeling subsides.

"Did you hear about the storm coming tonight?" she asks casually.

"No I didn't, is it supposed to be serious?"

"Oh yeah, a real big one, I heard it might even turn into a twister."

A twister? I guess for a moment I forgot how whimsical the people of Bluebell can be. I figure that without all the small town drama and local jargon "twister" translates to a bad thunderstorm. Kind of like the one Wade and I got stuck in the first night we…. Goodness I need to stop, I'm work. And no matter how many hormones are raging inside me right now, this is definitely not what I should be thinking about. "Well, be careful" I warn as I go back into doctor mode.

"You do the same" she smiles as she walks out.

Oh crap, she's right. Should I go to see Wade's show if the weather's going to be that bad? And what about Wade? He's already in Mobile setting up for the show. Is the storm going to make its way over there too? Will he be safe? I pull my cellphone out of my pocket and quickly dial his number.

My thoughts race as his phone continues to ring. I know Wade wouldn't want me to put myself or the babies in danger, but I can't miss him play again. Last time I missed him he was so upset that he… No, I can't let my mind go there. I trust Wade. He wouldn't do that to me again. He'll understand.

"Hey you've reached Wade Kinsella, I'm not here to talk right now but leave a message and I'll get back to you… maybe."

I roll my eyes at how crass his outgoing message is, but can't help but smile a little when I hear his voice.

"Hey babe, it's me. Listen, I guess there's some big storm coming. I'm just a little nervous about it. I have one patient left to see, but if you could give me a call back and let me know that you're okay, and what you think about me making the trip over to Mobile that'd be great. I love you. I know you're going to do great tonight. Bye."

I look over my next patients chart. Shelby's gone home for the night, so this patient and I are the only ones left in the building, which is good because the last thing I want with the storm coming is more people to have to worry about.

Hmmm, I've never had this patient before, in fact- I don't even recognize his name. "James Mansfield," is he from Bluebell?

"Hello Mr. Mansfield, what seems to be the problem?" I ask as I open the door. I gape as I look up at him. Oh my God, it's him. He must have given Shelby a fake name when he made the appointment. He's here. He's actually here. But how?

"What are you doing here?" I ask shocked, and quite frankly a little pissed off.

"Hello Zoe" he says softly with a smile. "I know this might not have been the best way to do this, but I had to see you. I found out I was going to be a grandfather and…"

"Ow" I interrupt as my pain from before persists.

"What is it?" he asks urgently as he gets up and grabs my arm.

"It's- it's nothing. I've just been having Braxton Hicks contractions."

"Are you sure that's it?" he asks as he looks at me worriedly.

"Yes!" I snap as I lean forward. "What the hell are you even doing here anyway?" He thinks he can just waltz back in here and have everything be the same!? After all this time.

"I wanted to see you" he answers simply.

"That's funny; you haven't seemed any too interested in that up until this point."

"I- I know that sweetheart, I'm sorry about that. I want to fix that."

"Look" I sigh. "I can't do this right now- there's supposed to be a storm coming, and my husband is in this competition tonight-"

"Husband?" he asks softly.

"Yes, I married the babies' father."

"That's great" he says with a forced smile. "Why didn't you invite me to the wedding?"

"I really didn't think you'd want to come."

"Right" he says as he clears his throat. "I-I could see how you'd think that, but- I would have really liked to see it."

"I can give you a picture" I say coldly.

"Who walked you down the aisle?"

"My friend Lavon, he's been really great to me" I answer defensively.

"I can't wait to meet him" he smiles. An awkward silence fills the air as I struggle for what to say next.

"I'm a little worried about you honey, are you sure you don't want to get checked out?"

"I'm a doctor, I'm sure if something was wrong with my own pregnancy I'd know it" I snap as my phone buzzes.

"I have to take this" I say as I step out of the room. I hoped it would be Wade calling me back, but as soon as I pick up the phone I see that it's a news blast.

"A tornado warning has been issued for Bluebell Alabama …"

Tornado warning!? Holy crap! I scroll through the rest of the warning, and feel better when I realize that it isn't supposed to hit Mobile. At least I know that Wade is safe. But what about the babies?

"Dad" I say teary eyed, my emotions taking over before I realize the word that is flying out of my mouth, and all of the implications attached to it.

"What's wrong sweetheart?" he asks urgently.

"There's a tornado coming, we have to get out of here… it isn't safe! It isn't-"

The look that spreads over his face as I'm talking becomes increasingly horrified looking and I soon realize that something else is going on.

"What is it? What's wrong?" I ask as I look around.

"I don't think those were false labor contractions before honey."

"Why do you say that?" I ask nervously.

"Because your water just broke."

**Please Review!**


	33. Chapter 33

Oh my God! This can't be happening, not now, not like this.

"It's too soon" I say as tears form in my eyes.

"It's okay" my father says softly as he wraps his arm around me. "It'll be okay, we'll figure all this out."

"We have to get to the hospital" I say scattered.

"In a tornado?" he asks. "No. We should stay put."

"I'm in pre-term labor! What if there's something wrong with the babies?" A million terrible scenarios play through my mind, but I try my best to remain calm.

"Well, it's a good thing that we're both doctor's in a doctor's office now isn't it?" he smiles, but I can tell it's to appease me. He looks as worried as I am. "How far apart are your contractions?"

"I don't know… I haven't been timing them."

"That's okay" he replies reassuringly. "We'll start timing them now, why don't you get on that exam table and relax."

"Wade isn't here."

"Why don't you try calling him again" he suggests calmly as searches the room for something.

"What are you looking for?" I ask as I dial Wade's number.

"Scissors."

"Scissors" I gasp. "Can't you find something else to use? This is a doctor's office."

"I'm going to need something to cut the cord" he responds calmly. "Sterilized scissors will work best."

Right, of course, I knew that. What is wrong with me? None of this feels real.

"Baby" Wade says frantically on the other line. "Thank God, are you okay?"

"I've been better" I mutter as I ride out another contraction. I gasp as it finishes and my father looks at his watch.

"Okay, it's 7:15, we'll see how far apart they are when the next one comes."

"Who the hell is that?" Wade asks worriedly.

"That is… my father" I answer, realizing fully how crazy this entire situation is.

"Baby, your father is dead" he says warily, as if he's concerned about my mental health.

"Obviously I mean the one that isn't dead!" I snap through gritted teeth.

"Sorry" he mutters. "But, you're okay right? You're in a basement, or a storm shelter, or-"

"No" I interrupt.

"Well, why not?"

"Because" I answer as I take a deep breath. "I am in labor."

"What!?"

"My water broke, I'm in labor."

"Oh my… Oh my God!"

"It's okay" I say calmly. "We're at my office, and my father is going to deliver the babies."

"In a tornado? While I'm out of town? This is a trick right? This is like an April fool's joke or, I'm being punk'd or something."

"No" I sigh. "No, this is actually happening."

"Oh my God, I- I will be right there."

"Wade!" I yell. "No, you can't travel in this storm! You're going to get yourself killed!"

"I am not gonna very well stay here while you're in Bluebell having our babies."

"Please, Wade just stay put, the last thing I need is to worry about-"

"Baby, you're breaking up on me-"

"Don't you dare!" I snap. "I know you can hear me, if you drive to Bluebell, and the storm doesn't kill you I will kill you myself, do you understand me Wade Kinsella!?"

There's no response. He hung up on me. "Damn it!" I sigh as I feel a tightening in my stomach again. "I'm having another contraction" I moan.

"That was five minutes… barely. These babies are getting ready to make their grand entrance."

"I just wish I was ready" I sigh.

"You're never ready" he smiles. "You think you are, but then…"

"Then you find out that your wife cheated on you with an older southern doctor and you ditch the kid and take off?" I snap as I shift uncomfortably.

I instantly feel guilty as I see the pain etched on his face. This isn't easy for him either, and he's trying.

"Sorry" I mutter. "I guess being in labor makes me cranky, and Wade isn't here for me to take it out on him."

"I don't know" he smiles. "It sounds like you gave him a pretty stern warning there."

"Yeah, and I'm going to make good on it too if he's stupid enough to-"

"He loves you" he interrupts. "And he loves these babies, nothing's going to keep him away. Just like nothing would keep me away if I knew you needed me."

"I've needed you for a while now, and you haven't been here" I say, surprising myself with my own honesty, as tears well up in my eyes.

"I know that sweetheart" he says as he places his hand on mine. "But I'm here now, it's going to be okay."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Thunder crashes loudly outside as the lights flicker, I can hear the wind blow fiercely and I'm terrified for Wade, for the babies, for my father, for everyone in Bluebell.

"You're going to have to start pushing soon Zoe" my father says softly.

"Already?" I ask as I struggle to catch my breath.

"You're fully dilated."

"This can't be happening" I whine through the pain.

"You're doing a great job sweetheart."

"Thanks" I sigh.

"Everything is okay" he adds with a smile.

"Everything is not okay!" I groan. "I'm having twins in the middle of a tornado, and my stupid-ass husband is out there somewhere probably getting himself killed-"

"What was that?" I hear Wade call out from the front door. "I think I heard my name."

"Wade" I say breathlessly. "You're okay."

"Of course I'm okay" he smiles. "You think I'd miss this."

I grab Wade's hand and hold it tightly as he takes a peek under the sheet. "Oh dear Lord" he gasps as his face pales. "There's a reason I ain't the one who's a doctor. You okay?"

I smile at him slightly, but I can tell that my fear is written all over my face.

"Hey, it's okay Doc" he says as he strokes my cheek. "It's all okay now sweetie, I'm right here."

"Okay Zoe, I'm going to need you to push now" my dad chimes in.

I look at Wade apprehensively as I squeeze his hand tightly.

"Good girl" Wade whispers in my ear. "You're doing so good."

I stop for a moment and struggle to catch my breath.

"One more push" my father says excitedly.

Oh my God, this is actually happening; I'm going to meet my baby. Before I can fully process what is going on I hear a loud scream.

I relax into the table and smile; I feel like I've just ran a marathon.

"There's little Susie" Wade says excitedly as he grabs my hand. "She's beautiful Doc, you done good" he adds as he kisses my forehead.

"Can- can I see her?" I ask as I reach out my hands.

"I'm gonna have Wade hold her, while you deliver the other baby" he says as he walks back with her, wrapped in a towel.

"Oh my God" Wade says smiling widely. "She looks just like you Doc, you know if you were bald and chubby."

"Shut up" I laugh as I start to push again.

Wilkes comes much faster than Susanna and her screams are soon matched by her brother's. My father takes him to the other side of the room and wraps him in another towel. He hands the baby to me and everything is forgotten, all of my worries, all of the pain. I smile at Wade who has tears in his eyes.

"I didn't know it was possible to be this happy" he says in awe. "Thank you Doc."

"Thank you" I smile back. I start to feel weaker, but I'm sure that's normal. I did just deliver twins after all.

"Is- Is that normal?" Wade asks as he looks at my father worriedly.

"No" he answers, and I notice the horrified look on his face for the first time.

"What?" I ask urgently. "Are the babies okay?"

"The babies are fine" he says softly. "But, you're hemorrhaging."

"What?" I ask as I struggle to sit up.

"Lie back" he admonishes."This office isn't equipped enough" he adds worriedly.

"For what?" Wade asks.

"Surgery" he answers. "We've got to get her to a hospital. Now."

**Please Review!**


	34. Chapter 34

"We need to leave now?" I ask breathlessly.

"No way" Wade answers. "I was just out there- the roads are terrible there are trees falling everywhere."

"And you still drove to see me" I scoff.

"Yes, I did" he says softly. "But it's not safe enough out there for you or the babies."

"If we stay here any longer she'll bleed to death" my father says in a cold voice that chills me to the core.

"Jeez" Wade sighs. "We _can't_ let that happen." He pauses for a moment as if he's thinking. "Okay, let's go."

"No!" I protest.

"Zoe-" my father scolds, and suddenly I feel like I'm 9 years old again.

"I am not taking the kids out in this storm."

"Wade can stay with them" my father says softly. "And I'll get you to the ER."

"But-" I start to feel weaker, and dizzy. I think I might pass out. "I don't feel so good" I admit shakily.

"Oh God" Wade gasps. "What's happening to her?"

"It's the blood loss, she may faint" my father explains. "Zoe, honey, you're going to be fine" he adds calmly.

"I know" I say as I close my eyes and try to steady my breathing. "I am a doctor, remember? Just like you."

"Right" I hear him say as everything starts to fade. "Just like me."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX

I open my eyes and see nothing but white for a moment. As everything falls into focus I can see that I'm in a hospital. A hospital. _A hospital?_ Why the hell am I in a hospital? Oh God, the storm, the babies- I remember now.

"Help!" I call out in a voice that sounds much weaker than I intended it to. Holy Crap, everything hurts it didn't feel like this before. I look down at my hand and notice that it is bloodied, and my wedding ring is gone. Oh God.

"Help!" I call out again.

"Baby!?" Wade asks urgently as he runs into the room.

"Wade?" I ask softly. "You're here."

"Of course I'm here Doc" he smiles.

"But I thought you were staying with the babies."

"I did" he answers as he clears his throat. "That was two days ago sweetie."

"I've been unconscious for that long?"

He nods. "You scared the living crap out of me. I thought…"

"I'm sorry" I interrupt as I grab his hand. "I didn't mean to scare you." As I try to sit up, I'm reminded that my entire body is aching.

"Woah there" Wade says. "You ain't ready to be moving around like that."

"What the hell happened?" I ask shakily.

"You were in an accident on the way to the hospital."

"What!?" I gasp.

"That daddy of yours did everything he could to get you here."

"He did?"

"Oh yeah. The accident happened about a mile south of here; he picked you up and carried you the rest of the way. Got here just in time too, you nearly bled to death out in the road. God, if that had happened I'd have been… I don't even want to think about it."

"Me neither" I sigh as I gather all of the information he has given me.

"But he's okay, right? My dad's okay?"

"He was pretty banged up" Wade cringes. "But they let him go home yesterday. Not that he actually did go home; him and I have been camped out in the waiting room."

"You have?" I smile as I picture the two of them sitting vigil for me.

"Of course" he smiles softly. "Because we both love you."

"And the babies?" I ask urgently. "They're good?"

"They're perfect" he smiles.

"Where are they?"

"They're over at Earl's, he's been keeping an eye on them."

"What!?" I yell as my eyes widen in horror as I picture Earl mistaking his shotgun for a baby bottle.

"Kidding" he laughs. "They're in the hospital nursery. They want to keep an eye on them since they're premature, but the doctor says all things considered they're doing great."

"Thank God" I sigh as I lean back into the bed. Everything's okay, I'm okay, Wade's okay, my dad's okay, my babies are okay. "I love you" I say softly.

"Aw Doc, I love you too. More than you know" he says softly as he kisses my head. "I almost lost you, do you have any idea what that did to me?"

"No" I answer sympathetically. "I'm sorry."

"Me too, maybe if I hadn't of gone to that _stupid_ contest, I could have gotten you to the hospital in time. God, I'm an ass."

"Don't do that" I say softly as I take his hand. "The contest was not stupid, and you are most certainly not an ass. You are my husband and you are wonderful…. How did the contest go anyway?" I suddenly remember to ask.

"Good" he says sheepishly. "I won."

"Wade Kinsella!" I squeal. "How did you not tell me this before!?"

"When would I have told you?" he asks arching a brow. "When you were in preterm labor in the middle of a twister, or when you were lying unconscious in a hospital bed?"

"Fair enough" I sigh throwing my hands up in defeat. "I'm proud of you, you know?" I add as I grin widely at him.

He looks down, but I see the shy smile spreading across his face.

"It seems like everything has come together" I grin. "We're together, we have our babies, you can buy your bar, it's kind of like a dream come true."

"I guess it is" he laughs.

"But then again every moment with you feels like a dream.

"That was incredibly corny" I giggle.

"I know" he shrugs. "I guess that's just what you do to me.

"I'd like to see the babies" I smile. "Do you think I can?"

"I'm pretty sure that can be arranged" he says as he walks towards the door. "Don't go anywhere."

"Don't worry" I laugh. "I'm not going anywhere?"

"Sweetheart?" my father asks as he runs into the room, standing next to my bed in the spot Wade was only moments ago.

"Hi daddy" I smile.

"Oh" he sighs. "That is the most beautiful sound I've heard in a long time. I was so scared…"

"Thank you" I interrupt. "You risked your life to save mine, even after I was a total bitch to you."

"You were not" he shrugs. "And even so, I deserved it."

"It's just… It was hard for me because I thought you didn't love me" I admit, the words tumbling out of my mouth before I've fully thought them through. "But, now I see that isn't true, I see that you do care."

"Oh honey" he cries as he wraps me in a hug. "Of course I care, you're my little girl."

"Why did you stay away for so long?" I ask shocked that all of these issues are coming to the surface so easily, shocked that we are doing this here… now.

"I was angry" he admits. "And scared, scared that you wouldn't want anything to do with me, scared I couldn't be a father to you… But the minute I saw you again I knew. I knew how much I loved you, and when I thought you might not make it…"

"It's okay" I interrupt as we both look into each other's tear-filled eyes. "I get it now. I get how much you love me because that's how I feel about my babies."

"You are _very_ special to me" he nods. "I will always love you, you will always be my little girl."

"And you will always be my dad" I say as the damn breaks and I begin to sob. Everything is just too much- going into labor, almost dying, finally settling these daddy issues I've had for my entire adult life. Crap crap crap. I feel so stupid. "I'm sorry" I say as I try to pull myself together. "I guess I'm just hormonal."

"You don't have to be sorry about anything" he says softly.

"Zoe?" Wade whispers as he renters the room, a nurse trailing behind him. "I got those babies you asked for."

"Oh my God" I gasp as I look at my children for the second time ever. I reach my arms out and Wade places my perfect baby boy, wrapped in a blue blanket into my arms. This is actually the first time I've held him.

"Hi" I say softly as my voice breaks yet again. "I'm your mommy."

"He knows" Wade scoffs. "I've only been telling them about you non-stop for the past few days.

"Oh" I laugh. "So daddy's been talking your ear off."

"Excuse me" he scolds "the kids like to hear me talk."

"I'm sure they do honey" I tease in a sarcastic voice.

"Look at you" my dad says with wonder in his voice. "You're just a perfect little family, huh?"

"Yeah" I smile as I embrace the wonderful corniness of the moment. "We are."

**This isn't the end, but the story is definitely drawing to a close! There will be one more chapter added in the next few days, which will tie up some loose ends with some supporting characters and give you a look into Zoe and Wade's life a little bit down the road :)Thank you so much for the support through this story, especially those of you who have reviewed every, or nearly every chapter. I'd love to hear some input from everyone on what you thought of the story as a whole, even if you haven't been reviewing regularly so far. Hope y'all liked this chapter and what I have coming up for you next :) Please Review!**


End file.
